Tamers Sagas: Atlas
by Narissa
Summary: Takato is once again forced to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. After agreeing to keep a secret for Yamaki, Takato must lie to his friends as he races to save their lives from something hunting them, and something much worse.
1. Shared Interests

"There is a great difference between worry and concern.

A worried person sees a problem,

and a concerned person solves a problem."

Harold Stephens

-

If you found this story and weren't looking for it, let me explain.

This story follows Takato as he's forced with some difficult decisions that will affect himself, Jeri, and his friends. It occurs during the same time as my other story, Crescendo, which is about Rika and Ryo.

I hope you enjoy it, and let me know what you think,

-N

-

Takato wasn't even out the door when it was slammed shut. Rika's mother had literally pushed him out after the escalating argument which followed her accusation that him, Henry, and Jeri were a bad influence on Rika. Rika's grandmother usually kept Rumiko in line, but she was at the theatre that night.

Takato had always prided himself as being the kind of guy who could like anyone.  
_  
_ _But you're not._

He'd often wondered it, but tonight finally confirmed it. He couldn't like simply anyone. He discovered this the instant that Rumiko's accusations caused Jeri to cry. The sight of that was enough to break anyone who knew her, or how the kind of person she was. Because of her role in the D-Reaper incident, however, she certainly got the worst of Rumiko's words. 

It was certainly enough to break Rika, who ran out of her own home at the sight.

Takato rubbed the part of his back the door had struck, walking to Jeri, who was sitting on the front steps of the Nonaka home. It had evidently just started raining, and Henry had apparently given Jeri his coat, as neither Jeri nor Takato had brought one.

He and Henry spent a few minutes reminding Jeri that none of them believe, even for a moment, anything that Rumiko said.

_The girl's got a heart of gold. Anyone with half a brain can see it._

It took some convincing, but they eventually appeared to succeed, and the sweetest girl in the world stopped crying. He smiled at her as the three of them stood up. He knew they hadn't convinced her entirely - she just didn't want to worry them. But he accepted he couldn't make things any better by pushing, at least not right now.

_She's stronger than all of us put together_.

He knew he was right about that. "Think we should go track down Rika?" he suggested.

"She could be anywhere by now." Henry said. "And since she's not here, I'm guessing she doesn't want to be found right now. And if Rika doesn't want to be found, then she won't be."

"I think you're right, Henry." Jeri confirmed.

Takato stepped off the porch and into the rain, which was coming down harder now. He closed his eyes, and stretched his arms out sideways, catching as much of it as he could. He'd always admired Henry's ability to meditate. Henry even tried to teach him once, but he just couldn't sit still. Takato simply stood, then, however, feeling each individual drop land on him. He smiled inwardly at his own form of meditation.

"Where do you guys wanna go?" He asked, sacrificing his moment of peace.

"I think I'm gonna go home," Henry started. "Not feeling great. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow?"

"Count on it, buddy." Takato said with a wave.

"Good night, Henry." Jeri said cheerfully. "I hope you feel better. Oh! Here's your jacket back." She said, unzipping it.

"Nah, I'll just take Goggleboy's trademark as collateral. "Henry said, snatching them from Takato's head.

Takato reached for them but missed, and proceeded to chase Henry around Rika's yard in the rain, his protests difficult to make over everyone's laughter.

The tow continues to play-fight for a short while before Takato gave up, and Henry triumphantly crowned himself with the goggled. Takato was rarely seen without them. He once contemplates shaving a line of his hair off that would be covered by the band, just to see if anyone would notice.

He turned to Jeri after Henry had left. "Can I walk you home?"

"Sure Takato, thanks." She said with a little smile that he definitely noticed. Jeri's house was on the other side of town, so it would be a huge detour, but he didn't care. He appreciated every second he could get with her.

_And it's raining, too. This is totally starting to make up for Rumiko._

The walk was anything but quiet - they talked and joked and laughed as they always did when they were together. He really enjoyed spending time with her.

When they finally got to Jrei's house he was invited in to dry off. This wasn't the first time he'd walked her home in the rain - he once made the effort to bring a change of clothes when it was expected to rain, incase the opportunity to walk her home presented itself. He'd always toss the wet clothes in the dryer and 'forget'.

_It's convenient, really._

Walking Jeri home in the rain was kind of a ritual after that.

_Best decision you ever made._

He stayed at Jeri's for a good while. They watched a movie, and got to talk some more about random, irrelevant things that would make little sense to anyone. And he enjoyed every minute.

It was hours before he decided he should probably get home. He gave her a kiss on the cheek, and turned to leave, but she gently pulled him back by his hand and kissed him for real before letting him go. She waved to him and closed the door, both of them still blushing.

Takato was rather surprised by the event. That wasn't their first kiss, but she had never been that forward with him. They weren't officially 'dating', though that was definitely what Takato would want if he thought he came close to deserving her. They had settled with 'seeing each other'. He knew they were exclusive, he was just nervous to pursue anything more.

He checked his watch as he headed home, not entirely surprised at how late at night/early in the morning it was. The rain had lightened up, which he was a little disappointed in, but also a little grateful, since he'd been out in it for so long.

_You're so going to get trench-foot._

As he walked the downtown streets, he noticed that there was only one shop with the lights still on. He soon recognized it as the coffee shop that Ryo worked at. He peeked inside, and saw that his friend was cleaning a table, his back to the window.

_Payback. Gogogo!_

Takato flopped himself against the window, pressing his face against it, making the most bizarre face he could.

_No luck._

Ryo wasn't looking. Takato loudly thumped his hand on the glass.

_Bingo._

Ryo fell back almost _while_ he spun around. It was beautiful.

Takato wasn't sure what exactly this was payback _for_, but the two pulled crap like this on each other often enough that he'd lost count of the 'score'.

Takato couldn't read lips, but as Ryo unlocked the door, he managed to identify four of the five words Ryo said then as curses.

"I hate you." Ryo declared.

"You're just saying that." Takato replied, entering the little shop.

"Was that for the drawings I did on your face?"

"Goldfish in the water-bottle."

Ryo snickered. "You're having to go through some extremes to get me, coming here at 5 in the morning, you know."

"Was out with Jeri. What about you? Working the Insomniac-Coffee-Addict shift?"

"Nah, was supposed to leave hours ago, but Rika showed up."

"She did? You don't _look _bruised..Is she okay? She had a fight with her mom earlier."

"Yeah, so she said. She's fine, she left about a half hour ago."

"That's good. Why you still here?"

"Lost my cab money."

"Well, that sucks for you, then. Hang on, let me just leave messages on Jeri and Henry's phones to let them know Rika's alright."

Takato dialed Jeri first, and was surprised to hear her answer, rather than the voicemail.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me."

"Hi Takato, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. Just wanted to let you know that Rika's okay."

"Yeah, I know, talking to her online. Hey, incase she tells me, then tells me not to tell anyone…I mean, as long as I'm perfectly clear that this is just my specul--"

"Jeri?" he interrupted.

"Are _you_ okay?"

"It sounds like Rika likes Ryo."

"Heh. I'm with Ryo now."

"…oh."

"Yeah."

"…good night, don't tell him what I said, I'm not sure." She really sounded nervous.

"You too, and no problem."

He called Henry next, but got only the voicemail. He left a message similar to the conversation he had with Jeri, minus the gossip.

"So," Takato called to Ryo, who was busying himself by cleaning a clean table. "Need a place to sleep tonight?"

"Sure man, thanks." Ryo replied with some relief. "I _was_ just heading over to break in and drag you outside, but this requires less effort." He quickly added. Takato knew by the quick glance at a freshly-made pot of coffee that Ryo was planning on pulling an all-nighter. He grinned at his friend. Ryo was the most experienced of the Tamers, but wasn't really 'part of the group'. Everyone liked him –

_- Even Rika, apparently -_

_- _but nobody but Takato made the effort to get to know him. He was glad he did. They teased each other to the point where a lot of people at school though that they hated each other, but it was just their thing. Ryo could be pretty stubborn sometimes, but Takato knew that he was a great guy, and was proud to have him as such a close friend. Since the coffee shop was just a few blocks from the bakery, he stopped by often, which is how they got to become such good friends. He liked to think that even if it wasn't so convenient, he still would.

Ryo grabbed his coat from the back of the store, and quickly stuffed a few small, long, shiny metal objects into a little box which he stuffed in his pocket. Takato didn't bother questioning him, and the two headed to Takato's house. They talked as they walked, sharing as much information as they could without betraying any trusts. Takato didn't quite believe that Ryo lost his cabfare; Ryo was a surprisingly organized person. He didn't push him for details, though. Takato tried to respect people's privacy.

_He's probably just embarrassed about whatever he spent it on._

Takato glanced at his watch -

- _Yow _-

Almost 5:30. Good thing he didn't have to work tomorrow.

_Today?_

He wasn't particularly tired, but he knew Ryo was. So when they arrived at his place, he gave Ryo the bed, and offered to take the couch in his room. Ryo was grateful, and it was evident why when he passed out so quickly.

Takato himself knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep, so he walked to the computer and shook the mouse, squinting as the light from the screen attacked his eyes.

He signed on, with the doubtful hope that someone might be online.

_No joy._

He frowned a little, not surprised. He clicked on Kazu's name, then on 'send e-mail', after realizing that he hadn't talked to him in a few days. He asked him what he's been up to, and filled him in on what he himself had been doing. He left out the majority of that night's events in case of the likely event that they weren't invited to Rika's. He wrapped it up by suggesting they hang out sometime soon.

He ran the spellchecker, and proud that there were no errors, sent it and signed off. He looked around the room for something to occupy himself with. He settled on a science-fiction novel that Henry's father had given him for his birthday.

Takato liked Janyu, he always thought that he was a very good man. He'd always been supportive of all the Tamers. Things were rough between him and Henry the weeks that followed the digimon returning to their world, but Takato had been happy to learn that things had improved. He really felt bad for the choice Janyu was faced with. Takato knew sending them back was what had to be done -- even Henry knew -- he just didn't have to like it. He wondered if he'd ever be able to make a decision like that, choosing between duty and loved ones, but quickly pushed the thought to the back of his mind.

He read a few chapters before he lay down on the couch and went to sleep.

-

Well, I just wanted this chapter to reestablish character and foreshadow some things, more than anything else. The next one's gonna be a little dull, but it'll pick up.

-N


	2. Classified Information

"One man's justice is another's injustice; one man's beauty another's ugliness; one man's wisdom another's folly."

Ralph W. Emerson

-

Hey, you. Review. …Please?

-N

PS. Keep in mind if you're enjoying this at all, you might be interested in checking out **Crescendo**, which this parallels.

-

Jeri grunted as she forced the brush through her tangled hair.

_I think I need a haircut._

She retracted the thought when she finally finished, as she looked at herself in the mirror. It was just after 10:00, so she hadn't gotten much sleep at all.

_Does it show?_

She was a little tired, but she knew if she went to sleep again, she wouldn't be up until the early part of the afternoon. She didn't have to work, or any other commitments for that matter, but she didn't like sleeping in late, unlike most people her age. She was much happier on the move, going one place or another. She sort of thought of sleeping in as wasting time that could be better spent elsewhere.

When she had concluded she didn't look horribly tired, she went to her computer. Before she got the opportunity to sign on, however, her phone rang. She picked up the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Hey, morning Jeri."

"Hey Henry," she said, pleasantly surprised. "What's up?" Jeri knew Henry wasn't the kind to call and just chat, which was a little to Jeri's disappointment. She thoroughly enjoyed talking to her friends, especially to a friend as close as Henry.

"Was wondering if you talked to Takato lately. Just got a message from him saying that Rika's alright; wanted to make sure you knew."

"Yes, I talked to her online, I was pretty relieved." She suddenly rememberd that she had also been worried last night for Henry. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah, much. Thanks for asking. Was probably just tired. Anyways, what are you doing today?"

"Nothing at all. Did you want to do anything?" She asked hopefully. "I still have your coat. Jeri didn't get to see Henry very much, he'd been working a lot this summer. She was very happy to have seen him the night before. As she talked to him on the phone, she went to the dryer and removed both his jacket, and the change of clothes Takato had left. She hung the jacket on the back of her computer chair, and carefully folded Takato's clothes and put them in her drawer. She agreed that Henry would meet her at her place in an hour, and they'd go kill some time at the mall. Jeri quickly got changed into a faded pair of jeans, a white t-shirt, and a red zip-up sweater. She grabbed her favorite necklace, a small glass pendant with a red heart inside. Takato gave it to her the day after the D-Reaper was defeated, shortly after their first kiss together. It was the one thing that reminded her of the D-Reaper that she still kept around.

She hurried downstairs in search of food. Jeri never took long getting ready, so she had plenty of time. Her father, brother, and step-mother were gone for a few weeks, and while Jeri doesn't usually like being alone, she was definitely enjoying having the house to herself.

She got out some bread, meats, and condiments, and started putting together some sandwiches, as she often did. She was halfway done before she realized that she was making enough for four.

_Darn. Maybe Henry hasn't eaten yet._

Jeri doubted it. She knew Henry as one of those people who is never seen eating

_If he's not, I'll give the others to Takato and his parents._

Proud that she found a solution that didn't lead to her refrigerator smelling like old sandwiches, she finished making them up, wrapping only two of them incase Henry was hungry. She sat down and ate her serving, a little embarrassed she enjoyed it as much as she did.

Henry soon arrived, and politely declined her offer for lunch.

"Do you mind if we stop by Takato's so I can give these to him and his parents?" she asked.

"Sure, no problem." Henry said, indicating the large goggles around his neck that she hadn't noticed. She giggled at the image of the two of them running around in the rain the night before, fighting over them.

While she was wrapping up the remaining sandwich, the phone rang.

_Darn it._

"Can you finish this for me?" she asked Henry, indicating the mess of plastic wrap.

"Sure, no problem."

"Thanks." She hurried over to the phone before the voicemail picked up. "Hello?"

"Is this Jeri?" a man's voice asked.

"It is," she said slowly, trying to place the voice.

_Mr. Yamaki?_

"Jeri, it's Yamaki."

She smiled. "Good morning Mr. Yamaki." She really liked him. She was glad that in the end, he turned out to be on their side.

"Do you know where Takato is? I can't get an answer on his phone."

_Maybe he's _not_ home. No, wait—_

"Oh, he was out really late with Ryo last night. He could still be asleep."

"Alright, thank you for your time. If you see him, have him call me as soon as he can."

"I will, goodbye."

_Mr. Yamaki's always so formal. I wonder if she owns a t-shirt._

Soon she and Henry were on their way to Takato's, which was near the mall. They chatted about Yamaki, and devised a plan to buy him a "Metallica Rules" t-shirt. They talked about Henry's martial arts, and whatever else came to mind. Time always passed quickly with Henry, he was a great conversationalist and Jeri was always interested in what he had to say. She didn't know him very well through school before the arrival of his and Takato's partners, as the school was very large. They talked regularly after that, though, but not as much lately as he was very busy. She was grateful he'd called to do something.

After a short cab ride, they soon arrived at Takato's, which was a little less than halfway to the mall from Jeri's. Takato's mother answered the door.

"Jeri! Henry! Come on in." she greeted, cheerful as ever.

"Good morning Mrs. Matsuda." They both said, nearly in unison.

"I accidentally made too much lunch, so I brought some over." Jeri stated.

"_I wonder if that sounded as ridiculous out loud as it did in my head." _she thought to herself.

Mrs. Matsuda thanked her as Henry excused himself to answer his phone, and Takato's father entered. "Morning Jeri!"

"Good morning Mr. Matsuda, I made you all some lunch." Jeri said politely.

"Well thank you Jeri, that was very thoughtful." he said warmly, eagerly grabbing a sandwich from the plate. "Oh, I think that's my boy now," he said, as footsteps were heard moving towards the stairs. He peeked up, then turned back to Jeri. "Nope, it's the other one." He said with a little laugh as Ryo entered, wearing some of what Jeri recognized as Takato's clothes.

Jeri didn't know Ryo as well as Takato did, but she knew from all he had told her that he was a good, fun person to be around. He was a little taller than Takato, but Takato'd apparently lent him some of his larger jeans and an oversized sweater, making him actually look shorter than he was.

"Morning Jeri." He greeted her.

"Oh, hey Ryo, I didn't realize you'd stayed over here. I would have made more food, it looks like you guys are going to have to fight over who has to eat those." She said with a grin, knowing full-well they'd enjoy them.

_Maybe I should go make more._

"Takato's still asleep?" she asked, distracting herself.

"Yeah, he didn't go to sleep 'til pretty late."

She wanted to question Ryo for some details on how things were with Rika last night, but was reluctant to be nosey.

"How was your evening?" She asked after she determined the question not to be invasive.

"Great night." He said confidently.

_Aww._

She stopped herself from making the noise out loud, and realized Henry was still outside. "Anyways, I should probably get going." She traded goodbyes with everyone, and turned to leave.

_Yamaki._

"Oh, I almost forgot. Will you ask Takato to phone Mr. Yamaki?"

"Sure thing." Mrs. Matsuda said with a wave.

Jeri went outside to find Henry still on the phone.

"How many? No, I mean how many of them are okay. I see. The rest are going to be kept safe though, right? He said with pauses of varying lengths between.

_I hope I'm not intruding, maybe I should go inside._

She didn't, though, when Henry turned around, showing no negative concern of her presence.

"Dad, do it." He continued, pleadingly. "Suzi and I will be fine, just—no, dad—" he paused, sighed, and closed the phone.

"Is everything alright, Henry?" Jeri asked, deeply concerned.

"I have no idea. Four of the monster makers of disappeared. The police think kidnapping or—worse—"

_Oh, no…_

Jeri couldn't think of anything to say in response to that. Or what came next.

"—and they think my dad is next on the list."

-

Takato paced around the living room, glancing out the window frequently in search of Yamaki's limousine. He'd been calling, Takato was told. From Jeri and Henry, actually, who had told him of the danger that Janyu was thought to be in. They'd waited for Ryo to have left before they told him, and brought him to his room to avoid his parents, as well. Henry didn't want anyone but the three of them to know, probably out of fear the information might make it to Suzi.

He glanced at his watch. It was 3:24. Yamaki was supposed to come at 3:30. Takato knew he was not the kind to be more than a minute early or late, but still couldn't bring himself to distract himself from his thoughts. Yamaki mentioned that it was about the attacks, and that it was important that they talk, but not why. Takato's curiousity caused the time to flow all too slowly.

The six minutes seemed to take forever. When the limo finally pulled up, he entered it, waiting for no invitation. He thought of how peculiar it must have looked to someone who was watching.

"Hello, Mr. Yamaki." Takato said politely.

"Takato, the conversation we're aobut to have can not be reproduced in any way." Yamaki said flatly, ignoring Takato's greeting. "Do you understand?"

_I'm not stupid, Yamaki. Foiled your schemes back in the day, didn't I?_

"Yes." He promised, despite his disapproval of Yamaki's condescending tone.

_Why do I have the feeling I'm going to regret this?_

"Tomorrow afternoon, Janyu Wong will be attacked and kidnapped outside of his apartment." Yamaki said confidently.

_To hell with this._

"I'm telling." Takato said defiantly.

"You don't understand. It's important that this happens. I'm prepared to quarantine you until then if you're not willing to comply."

_Comply with what?_

"Why should I?" Takato challenged, not expecting to be convinced.

"Because his safety isn't the only thing on the line. If we don't let this happen, innocent people will die.

_Janyu's innocent._

"Explain." Takato said coldly. This was not turning out to be his best day ever.

"It makes no sense for whoever is doing this to kill the people that have been kidnapped, so it is a safe assumption that they are alive. Whether or not they're well is still unknown. If Janyu is attacked tomorrow, I'm prepared to track him down. Hopefully it will lead me to the kidnappers."

"Why am I being told this?" Takato asked suddenly, realizing it seemed unnecessary.

"The Monster Makers' are known for both their connection to the digimon, and for knowing you. The Tamers. Unless we find the attacker, he'll likely ocme after you all. I need you to help me stop that from happening, Takato. It can't be anyone else."

"Why not? Why does it have to be me?" Takato asked, annoyed by the situation he'd been placed in.

"I've known you for over a year now. All of you. I know you're the leader of the group. But more importantly, I have confidence that you are the most capable. You have the best reactions under pressure. I know this isn't something you want to do, but I know _you_ know it's something that must be done." Yamaki spoke, almost passionately. "When you fought the D-Reaper, you risked your life to protect someone you love, and to do what was right. You carried the weight of the world, and you were barely a teenager. It's the greater good, Takato. Janyu knows what that is."

There was a moment of silence as Takato let Yamaki's words sink in. He knew Yamaki cared about the tamers, but he never knew that he had that much faith in them. In _him_.

_The greater good?_

Janyu _did_ know what the greater good was. During the fight against the D-Reaper, he was called upon to do something that had to be done, even though he didn't want to. He made the decision nobody else could. Takato didn't want to admit it to himself, but he forced himself to.

_Yamaki's right._

"Okay." He said finally. Tell me what I have to do."

"First, I'll need you to distract Henry. Keep him occupied all afternoon tomorrow. Keep him far away from where Janyu will be. Make sure he can't be contacted, either—disable his phone. With luck, I'll have Janyu back before Henry, or anyone hears he's missing. I've some men keeping an eye on Janyu, so Henry won't be too scared to leave Janyu's sight. The men, however will only follow the attacker or attackers. After we know what we're up against, you and I will determine our next move together."

"Alright." Takato agreed. He was convinced it was the right thing to do, but it didn't make him hate himself any less.

Takato was dropped off at his home shortly after. He didn't say a word the rest of the drive.

_Greater good_.

It took him a long while before he could work up the nerve to phone Henry, but he eventually picked it up and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Henry? It's Takato."

_This is so wrong._

"Hi, what's up?"

_Your dad's going to be missing by tomorrow night._

"Not a lot." Takato lied. "I was wondering if you wanted to see a movie tomorrow afternoon. Two, actually. They're doing a double-showing."

"Sure, sounds great."

_I'm going to hell._

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow." Takato said, almost choking. "Meet you here at noon?"

"Will do. See you then."

_I'm so sorry, Henry._

He hung up the phone. Takato knew that he didn't deserve it, but he needed something. Solace He picked up the phone again, and dialed.

"Hey Jeri." He said, trying to sound like he wasn't ready to cry.

"Hi Takato! I was just thinking about calling you. How're you?"

"Been worse."

_Have you really?_

"Oh…want me to come over?" she asked, obviously concerned.

_Yes._

"No, that's okay. I mean, I'll be fine. I—just wanted to hear you." He said cautiously.

"I appreciate that, Takato. It means a lot. Is there anything I can do? Do you want to talk about it?" he knew she was going to ask that, and struggled to reject her offer to help.

"No, I kinda promised that I wouldn't tell anyone…it's just—have you ever done something you really didn't want to?" he said, searching for the right words.

"Well, once I was taken over by a computer program and tried to end life on earth. What's really going on?"

He knew Jeri was concerned to joke about that, and felt even more guilty for causing her to. "Not exactly that, I mean—have you ever chosen to do something you didn't want to do? For like, the greater good?"

"I don't really know. I guess I've always thought that when it's the greater good, you don't really have a choice."

That was almost exactly what he wanted to hear, and the last thing he expected to hear. Still, he was certain that she'd say otherwise if she knew the situation. But, it was still something.

"Takato," she continued, "I know we just keep doing our own thing, living our lives and all that. We keep going and going, and we don't know we've gone too far until we have to deal with it. But whatever you're struggling with, I know you'll do the right thing. You always do."

Takato actually smiled, grateful for something. If someone has to be put in this situation, he was glad it wasn't Jeri.

_The right thing to do. Greater good._

Phrases from that day raced through his mind. His conversation with Jeri ended shortly after, and he'd been sitting in a daze for at least an hour after that. He didn't bother looking at the clock before he took some extra drowsy headache medicine, and lay down, praying he wouldn't dream.

-

**Author's notes/comments**

Well, there you go. This was actually supposed to be chapters 2 and 3, separated at the beginning of Takato's point of view, but I put them together when I figured that the first part didn't constitute a worthy chapter on its own.

This one takes place after **Crescendo**'s chapter 2, but before 3.

When I was first planning Crescendo, Ryo was going to be the one to help Yamaki, but that closed off a lot of options for what I wanted to happen in the later chapters, so I wanted Takato to do it. But then Crescendo stopped being about Ryo and Rika, so I cut it out.

I was going to just revamp my original version of this chapter, putting Takato in Ryo's position, but redid it from scratch. Yamaki's plan was supposed to end in Janyu dying, but that made things a little too complicated. I couldn't have Janyu die, anyways, as it's stated in the other story that he's alive.

Anyways, 'til next time.

Read and review, if it's not too much trouble.

I've got what's probably going to be chapter 4 done. Working on 3.

-N


	3. Guilty Conscience

This one was supposed to be two chapters, as well, but I thought it worked better as 1. Enjoy, and review!

N

-

"Youth is wasted on the young."

-George Bernard Shaw

Jeri sat in the small structure in the park as Kazu and Kenta played a game of cards. During the match they'd both been frequently competing for her attention, but she hadn't been paying much to anything around her. She was shaken from the way Takato had sounded on the phone the other day. He sounded scared, almost like whatever he had to do was threatening him. She hadn't slept much that night. She was grateful that he called, but couldn't stop worrying about him, and whether or not he was going to be okay.

_I should have gone to see him._

She closed her eyes, mentally slapping herself for her mistake. She hadn't talked to him since, and it had been two days since he called. After the first day, she realized that she'd spoken with him in some way, every single day for the last several months. It wasn't even Takato that had called the meeting she was presently waiting to start. She quietly let out a sigh.

_He probably needed someone there, and I wasn't._

Furthermore, Henry's dad had been attacked the afternoon before, when Henry was out with Takato. Whoever attacked him tried to take him somewhere, but fortunately the police followed him and got him back, as well as all the other programmers. They were all comatose, however. Jeri had phoned Henry, who told her as much as he could about his father's current condition, but asked her not to tell anyone else, except Takato, who'd already been told. He'd called her that morning, informing her of the meeting's time, but no details.

Jeri went back to thinking about the boy she cared so much about. She honestly thought he was going to break up with her when he phoned. She didn't know if she would have preferred that over hearing him sound as upset as he did. Her mind raced to come up with something to help _someone_, but came up with nothing. This continued until

"Hey guys." Ryo said when he finally arrived. He greeted Kazu and Kenta concurrently before greeting her individually. Ryo was always friendly to Kazu and Kenta, even though they obviously tested his limits. She admired how he was like that.

"Anyone know why we're here?" Ryo asked.

"Nope." Kenta had said. "Henry said it was pretty important though." Jeri shifted uncomfortably, hoping nobody would notice. She was worried Mr. Wong's health had taken a turn for the worse. She again struggled with what she'd say or do to help in a situation like that, but she rejected all of the ideas that came to her, dismissing them as insensitive, or making light of the situation.

"I think Henry only told Takato, and he won't tell us." She said finally.

_Won't tell me._

"How're you, Jeri?" Ryo said quietly, propping himself against the wall beside her. "You seem kinda out of it."

"Oh, I'm fine. Just a lot on my mind. What about you?"

"Tired. You know, when you kinda think too much that you just wanna relax."

She nodded. That was exactly how she felt about everything that's been going on. She just wanted to sleep, but at the same time, _didn't_ want to. She wanted to make everything right before she could sleep. She just didn't know how. She wondered if Ryo was going through anything himself, or if his outlook just happened to match hers.

Eventually, Takato, Rika, and Henry arrived. Rika gave Ryo something that looked like a sweater, and stood next to him, while Henry and Takato stood by the door. Henry looked pretty bothered. Takato looked like an absolute mess.

_No he doesn't._

Jeri stared at him, trying to figure out what was different about him. He was wearing something he normally would, no new haircut, goggles in place…what was it? She stood and began a slow pace, trying not to look too suspicious.

_Eyes._

She looked at them, through them. Takato looked almost empty. She was certain that nobody else had even noticed. She didn't want to embarrass him, so she made a mental note to talk to him as soon as the opportunity came up.

"You gonna tell us why we're spending our Sunday here now?" Kazu questioned bluntly.

Jeri was still looking at Takato, who hadn't even looked at her. She saw him nod to Henry, before Henry passed a small piece of paper to her.

"Can you read that, please?" he asked, finally looking at her.

"Um, sure, I guess." She said, confused. She cleared her throat and read the article. It was a clipping from the local newspaper. It describes the situation about the programmers before they were found, and how Henry's father had refused to be protected. It describes the attack on him almost as a digimon's attack. It shot fire at him. It then spoke of the recovery of the six, declaring all of them as comatose—"and that's where it's cut off."

"Read this one, too." Takato said, passing her another clipping, this one much smaller. She stared into his eyes as he did, but she was sure he didn't notice. She could tell something was really wrong.

" **First of five comatose victims awake**

_**Janyu Wong was the first to wake from his coma, at 10:03pm last night. When asked what the attacker asked, he refused to tell authorities. We'll have more information on this story as it becomes available."**_

There was a minute that passed in silence. If nobody else would ask, then she would.

"What _did_ they ask him, Henry?"

She saw him exchange a worried look with Takato, which did nothing for her nerves. Henry spoke, his fear obvious in his voice. "He was asking him the locations of where _we_ could be found. That thing wasn't after my father or the others, it was after us. It attacked them because they'd all refused to tell it where we were… My family and me are staying with Takato's, since if that thing can read it would know where I live… Whatever that was, it wasn't human. I think it was a Digimon, and it's going to try to hunt us down, but we can't fight back."

_Something's…after us?_

Jeri looked around, gauging everyone's reactions. She recognized a similar worried look on everyone's faces, except Takato, who wore something more unique. She continued trying to label it, until he spoke. "Alright, let's take a break, I think."

She saw Kazu and Kenta nervously resume their card game, and Henry sit down and close his eyes. Rika walked outside, quickly followed by Ryo. She was ready to approach Takato and talk to him, but it was he who approached her.

"Can we take a walk?" he asked.

"Of course, Takato." They headed outside, and carefully descended the hill on the side opposite the path everyone always used. She had always liked this side of the hill, as there were several large rocks embedded in it, many of which were flat and horizontal, making a great place to sit and relax. Takato looked to think the same, as he picked one Jeri herself had always enjoyed, and the two sat.

"Sorry I haven't called." Takato said awkwardly. "And sorry if I freaked you out the other day. Things are—things were pretty messed up."

"It's okay." She said quietly. "Are you sure there isn't anything you want to tell me?"

"There's lots, it's just—I can't. I promised I wouldn't tell anyone. Secrets, you know." He said, almost without any tone at all."

She knew that he wasn't going to tell her anything, and it hurt her. Bad. She found herself wondering about what this thing was that might be after them. She hadn't so much thought of her empty home, but instead worried about the boy next to her. She concluded he was why she wasn't particularly scared. She leaned over, and planted a kiss on his cheek before resting her head on his shoulder. They stayed like that for about fifteen minutes before Takato spoke. "I think you should stay at my place for a while. So you're not alone. I think you'll be safer that way."

_I know I will be._

"Okay. That sounds right." She replied with no objections. She sat her head back on his shoulder, and another five minutes passed before the next interruption.

"Guys, we're gonna figure out some living arrangements." Henry called.

They stood up, and Takato looked at her before they headed back upstairs.

_Weird._

For a second, Takato almost looked like he was sorry about something.

-

"You asked her to move in with you?" Yamaki questioned.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because it was the right thing to do." He said firmly, throwing Yamaki's words back at him.

"You know you can't tell her anything."

"Yeah, I know." He sighed.

"Anyways, I've been going over what happened, and that creature that attacked Wong did demonstrate several characteristics of those of digital monsters. I injected it with something I was supposed to be able to track, but it's not functioning. I believe it's underground. I should be able to pinpoint its location if it is. I scanned, and there have been no digimon that have left the digital world since the D-Reaper. I think that this thing is only part-digimon. I'm still testing some samples we collected earlier."

Takato struggled with the thought, settling on something like a biomerge. He said nothing, however, and Yamaki continued.

"What I need you to do is, when I call you and tell you where to go, observe the creature. Gather as much information on it as you can—size, color, smell—anything you can take note of, do. I'll have men guarding you from a distance. What I want to determine is a) what this thing is, and b) if it knows you're a Tamer. We heard it say 'Tamers' when we chased it off before, but that does not necessarily mean he knows who you are. We need to assess how much danger you're in. I'll contact you later when it's time."

Takato hung up the phone. Here he was, the girl of his dreams never closer, and he'd never felt so alone. His last mission for Yamaki turned out to be a stunning success—Janyu was hospitalized. They had confirmed that someone or something was after the Tamers, but couldn't help but weigh if it was worth risking Janyu's well being. He was just so tired.

He went downstairs, trying to look as normal as possible, and found Jeri sitting on the couch, looking at, but not watching the television. He sat beside her. They hadn't told Takato's parents about the creature, as it would only lead to excess worry. Instead, Takato had told them that Jeri was simply scared of living by herself, and they'd invited her to stay with them for a few weeks without a second thought. The only other person they might be that friendly to would be Ryo, whose parents were also away. Ryo's home was a ways out of town, however, and Rika was staying with him, last he heard.

Three days past before Takato got another phone call. But it wasn't Yamaki, as he expected, it was Rika. She'd asked him if he and Henry wanted to do something. Apparently she didn't know Jeri was living with him, but Takato knew it wouldn't be a problem having her along, so he didn't mention it. They agreed that she and Ryo would meet them at the bakery after calling Henry. He told Jeri, and she seemed excited to get to see some people, which made him glad. The two honestly hadn't been out much.

Takato and Jeri were getting ready upstairs when he got another phone call. He picked it up, expecting Rika, Ryo, or Henry. But he wasn't surprised when it was Yamaki.

"Takato, I just got a location. It must have came from the sewers."

"Where is it?"

"Right outside, but it doesn't seem to be moving towards you."

Takato paused a moment as he decided what he should do. He looked to Jeri.

"No matter what you here, stay here, okay?" he asked, almost pleadingly.

"Okay, Takato." She said, obviously confused, but trusting him.

He hurried downstairs, still with Yamaki on the phone. He saw Rika and Ryo were right outside, their backs facing him. He looked past them to what they were staring at, a giant creature with almost a snakelike body. It was towering over a charred body. Takato's stomach twisted as he saw it, burned beyond recognition, void of life. A crowd of people were staring onward, likely too scared to move. The creature was staring back towards him—

—_No—_

--towards Ryo and Rika. Ryo grabbed Rika and _ran_, and the creature headed after them. It took Takato all his strength not to follow. He couldn't leave Jeri alone, and he was hesitant to have her see the dead body outside.

"Yamaki it's after them!"

"It won't catch them, they're faster than it. Takato, I don't think it's after them."

"What? I just saw it, it's chasing them now—"

"Don't worry, they'll get away. What I mean is—it's not after them—collectively. It's after Rika."

-

Okay, so things are picking up now. Please review, I was a little disappointed in how few there's been. Anyways, I need some feedback to see if anyone's even reading this.

Lots of love,

N


	4. Truths Revealed

No, I don't own digimon.

--

**IMPORTANT!**

**Reviews:**

I haven't been getting nearly as many reviews for this fic as I had with Crescendo (which averaged over ten per chapter, as opposed to less than two, so I was a little reluctant to continue it. The few people who _did_, review, however, were very kind and supportive, which I found very motivating enough to continue. Therefore, this fic is dedicated to the people below:

**Teroglahn the Otolla:** I was _really_ worried that the characters wouldn't be close to being IC, since it's been so long since I've seen the show, and after reading as many fics as I do, things get blurry, you know? I probably wouldn't have continued past Chapter 1 if I hadn't read your review. It was so freakishly close to what I wanted and needed to hear. Thank you _so_ much!

**Oceam:** Thank you for being so supportive. I'm really glad you're enjoying this story, and that you're sympathizing with Takato and his decisions, which is really what I was trying to do. I'm going to try to stick in more Jurato-ness in at some point. "Splatter" is exactly the word I'd been looking for to describe it in this fic :P. It'll get a bit more antonym-of-splatter later on, according to the plan I intend to stick to.

**Wedge:** I'm really glad you're liking the story so far. If you hadn't read in whichever chapters I've mentioned it in, this is basically my other story, Crescendo, which is told from Rika and Ryo's POV's instead of Takato/Jeri's. The genre's a little different though, since Rika and Ryo don't know half as much as Takato's gonna, so Crescendo almost more of a horror/romance on their end. Thanks for the review!

**The-3-Amigos: **I was incredibly happy to see that someone was reading both stories! I hope you're not finding it too repetitive, or anything. I've been trying to write this one during times where Rika and Ryo weren't present. I just noticed the chapters in this story are notably longer than that of its counterpart, in some cases, double. I don't think I'll be updating Crescendo until Atlas gets to the same point in time, so I hope I don't bore you! I believe you're one of the few people reading both stories. Do you think I should post a short essay in chapter 5 or 6 of Atlas talking about what's been going on in Crescendo, or would it not add much? What do you think; good idea or bad?

**Fluffeh the Great**: Tamers was my favourite season, as well. I wasn't a huge fan of Davis and co. I hope you're one of the North American viewers—you'd be amazed how confused I get reading stories—even great ones—where Ruki is Rika, etc. :P Anyways, again, I'm glad I've been keeping things IC, as Tamers isn't being aired on any networks I get that I know of. Where the heck's our Tamers DVD release?

--

I think as far as story content goes, this one should be pleasing. Try not to be too judgemental on my writing in this one, I had my wisdom teeth taken out this morning, and I'm heavily drugged. I'm just proud that I think I'm spelling most things correctly. I'll have some commentary-esque material at the end.

-N

--

"Faith is a gift—but you can ask for it."

-Cicero

--

"What? Why Rika? Takato demanded, paralyzed with his choice of chasing after Rika, Ryo, and the snake-thing, or staying to protect Jeri. He was sure he'd chosen the latter, but didn't want her to hear his conversation with Yamaki as he hurried outside.

"I tested some of the samples we collected from the location where we secured Janyu and the Monster Makers. The tissue, it's—I can't quite explain this to you over the phone. Find somewhere safe to take Jeri, then we can meet in person" Yamaki stammered. Takato had rarely heard Yamaki sound as worried as he did just there. The only other time was during the D-Reaper's attack.

"…fine. Where can I take her?" Takato submitted.

"Take her home. Her own place. It's too risky to keep her at yours, as he was already so close."

_He?_

"Fine." Takato agreed, hanging up the phone, fully aware he wouldn't get half the answers out of Yamaki that he wanted, at least unless they spoke in person. He called Henry, who was nearby, as he was supposed to meet them already, and told him that he'd need to protect Jeri after the three of them went to her house. Henry was confused, but as soon as Takato told him it was important and he needed to trust him, Henry didn't ask anything more before agreeing.

_He trusts you. After you betrayed him._

Takato pushed the thought to the back of his mind, as he had with so many similar thoughts lately, and went inside to get Jeri. He only told her that the creature _was_ near, but left, and that they'd all be safer if they went to her house. He knew she must be frustrated with him not telling her anything, but simply couldn't risk telling her anything that might put her in further danger. If she knew that the thing might be after Rika and Ryo, she'd go after them without question. Takato _had_ to trust Yamaki when he said that they'd be safe. He simply had no choice. Granted, it wasn't hard to trust him. For all the lying he'd made Takato do to his friends, Takato knew that protecting the Tamers was his obvious priority. That included protecting Jeri. As long as Yamaki's goals were basically the same as Takato's, he'd help him.

As the three walked to Jeri's, Takato couldn't help but bring his thoughts back to Janyu. He empathized with him more than ever. Is it selfish to protect those you love when the lives of many are at risk? He wondered if he'd ever be able to choose between the people closest to him to save the world. Jeri? Henry? Ryo? He cared about all of them too much. If the opportunity ever arose, he'd gladly choose to give his own life to protect any of them. Not because he had to…he'd hate if they would think of it as the "leader" giving himself up. If it ever happened, he'd want them to know it was more than that. His relationship with Jeri was the closest thing to love he could conceive. Maybe he even did love her, but he couldn't let himself think that. He was so ashamed with everything he'd done lately. Henry had been his closest friend during the appearance of the digimon. Takato had _always_ been able to count on Henry when he needed to, and even when he didn't. Takato, Henry, and Rika had been the original three Tamers. Henry, Rika, and Ryo had all even volunteered to put their lives on the line to hold off the D-Reaper's Agents so Takato could get to Jeri. Henry was a very noble person, and Takato had betrayed him. He knew he didn't deserve Henry's trust. They hadn't talked nearly as much after the digimon left as they did when they were here, but Takato still obviously considered Henry a good friend. Ryo, on the other hand, hadn't been very close with Takato during the digimon incident. Takato didn't mind, though, because Ryo became his closest friend after the incident. He wondered if Ryo valued their friendship as much as he did. Hell, he wondered if Jeri and Henry cared about him the way he did. Takato suddenly wondered if he'd ever find out—if they'd all make it through this. He didn't know if he could live with himself if any of them were to fall to this thing. He prioritized his friends' survival above his own, and he wondered if he himself would get through it. It was then that Takato promised himself to, at some point, tell Ryo that their friendship was one of the few important things in his life; to tell Jeri exactly how he felt about her; and to come clean with Henry about his role in what happened to Janyu. He just hoped he'd have enough time to do it.

Little was said amongst the three before their arrival at Jeri's. The three were taking the route through the woods, which, although _was _almost something out of a horror flick, was the fastest way to Jeri's. Takato had assumed that Henry was following Takato almost blindly, which—while certainly flattering—he almost hated because of the plain fact that he didn't feel he deserved to be. Jeri not only said nothing, but barely lifted her eyes from the ground the entire way. It literally caused Takato physical pain to have to hide something from her. Takato said the most, however few of words were said. But it wasn't to his friends, it was to his parents, who he'd called and asked to stay and his grandmothers. The tone he'd asked them in was similar to the one he'd used with Jeri and Henry.

_Why do they all trust you so much? Manipulative—_

Takato's thoughts were interrupted as he heard his phone ring again. For the first time that he noticed, Jeri raised her eyes to his, but quickly returned them to the ground as the three continued walking. Takato slowed a bit, lagging behind Henry and Jeri as he answered it, knowing full well Yamaki was on the other end.

"Yeah? We're almost at Jeri's." Takato asked, sounded much ruder than he had intended.

"Rika and Ryo are safe. I thought you'd want to know. I'll pick you up when you get to Jeri's place." With that, Yamaki hung up.

_Rika. It's after Rika?_

"Yeah, okay, thanks. I'm really glad to hear that." He said, fully aware that nobody was on the other line. For the first time in what felt like ages, he felt relieved. He called ahead to his friends.

"Hey, guys, that was Ryo," he lied "him and Rika are okay. They hadn't even left his house yet, but they heard about the snake thing on the radio. They were just worried about us."

He saw Henry and Jeri's shoulders sink almost in unison as they exhaled deeply. He even saw smiles off of them. And of course, seeing Jeri smile made him smile, even if what he'd just told her was half true. This made him feel all the more guilty, so he let out more information than he probably should have, but nothing that would endanger them.

"Yamaki's gonna pick me up when we get to your place, Jeri. Not sure about what, maybe he heard about this thing too. He might even have a way to stop it."

She smiled a little wider. "Really? That's the best news I've heard all day."

Henry smiled, too. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Takato was worried he'd painted himself into a corner, and searched for a way out. He collected himself quickly, though, and replied. "No, I don't think so. I'm pretty sure we'll be safe at Jeri's, but I'd like for you guys to stick together. Yamaki tends to yammer on, and I'd be a whole lot more comfortable with that if I know that J—that you guys aren't alone."

He could tell Jeri was trying to hide her smile and blushing about his Freudian slip, but didn't bother hiding his own. It was one of the first true things he'd said to his friends in a while. His smile faded, though, as he turned his thoughts to what Yamaki had said. The thing was after Rika. Takato didn't know what to make of it. It wanted the location of the Tamers, so it could get to Rika specifically? It didn't make sense. Takato knew Rika was a special girl, but why would anyone want to hurt her, more than any of the other Tamers?

_You're the good guys._

He wondered if there were more people like Rumiko who blamed the Tamers for things they weren't responsible for. The D-Reaper sure caused a lot of damage globally. He made himself accept that while the Tamers were the ones who stopped it, that there must be some people who blamed them for its arrival in the first place. He then accepted that the Tames must have enemies. But he couldn't get past why something would be after Rika.

He _didn't_ get past it, and it haunted him until they arrived at Jeri's house. He wasn't surprised to see Yamaki's limousine outside. He looked to Jeri, who seemed to be as unsure of what to say as he was. He instead said nothing, moved close to her, and hugged her, holding her for a few seconds, before he broke apart to give her a small kiss, and then entered Yamaki's limo, saying nothing else to neither her nor Henry

_Henry._

Takato and Jeri had been almost secretive about their relationship. He was certain everyone suspected something, but Henry just then was the first to bear witness. He felt a little bad, worried that he may have just created an awkward situation for Jeri that he should be there for to help explain, but on the other hand, he was a little glad, as it would probably make telling Jeri his feelings a lot easier.

_Stay focused._

He followed his advice, and turned to ask Yamaki the question that he'd left burning in Takato's mind.

"What did you mean, 'it's after Rika'?

"I've managed to enhance the tracking capabilities we're using on the creature—" Yamaki began, ignoring Takato's question.

_The creature. He._

"—You called it 'he' earlier." Takato accused.

Yamaki paused with a sigh. "The tissues we collected…I've had them analyzed. A hundred different ways. That thing, it's human. It may appear to demonstrate qualities of a digimon, but it's not." Yamaki said this slowly. He was evidently having great difficulty explaining this. Takato was someone what by this, for all the grief Yamaki'd put him through the past few weeks.

"Then what is it?" Takato asked, repressing his urge to make Yamaki feel as uncomfortable as Takato had been lately.

Again, Yamaki seemed to ignore his question. "Seven years ago, the threat of the digital world had first arisen. Three scientists were asked to combat the menace biologically. We were commissioned to create a serum that would give a human the strength and abilities of a digimon, so that we could fight back. But that wasn't our own personal priority. The group consisted of myself, Dr. Alexander Valn, and Dr. Nonaka—Rika's father."

…_What?_

"You knew Rika's father?" Takato demanded, almost angrily. "She barely remembers anything about him, why didn't you ever—"

"Takato, please just listen." Yamaki said almost pleadingly. Takato agreed after several seconds of silence. "Our first breakthrough was a virus which was to infect the digital world so that we could control it—please believe me when I say that we had no idea they were sentient creatures." Takato did, thought he didn't say anything, and Yamaki continued. "That was to be our last resort, though. We didn't understand enough _about _the digital world to inflict such a thing on it. So, out next creation was what we were supposed to do. Find a way to give a human being the power he'd need to fight a digimon. It involved using a similar system that digimon themselves use—collecting data. We tested the serum on a subject, and it appeared to work. He—mutated into something we hadn't conceived. We had a cure, however, and we used it. The subject returned to normal. But he was furious. He claimed we hadn't explained the risks to him, and threatened to expose the dangerous work we were doing. Valn killed him in cold blood. When I saw the only monster I worked with was him, I left, and founded the Juggernaut project. But not before I took this." Yamaki said, brandishing a plastic yellow case. "Valn and Nonaka's lab later exploded. One body was found, but it was burned too badly to be able to be recognized. I don't think it was either Valn _or_ Rika's father, but the man Valn killed."

"What about Rika's dad?" Takato asked. "Do you have any idea where he might be now?"

Yamaki sighed. "Takato, the samples I collected off of that creature indicate that that _is_ Rika's father. He was as opposed to Valn's cruelty as much as I was, only he was too scared to leave. Valn probably even blackmailed him into staying, so he could turn his research against him. I believe Valn is controlling him, sending him after the Tamers to get revenge on me. It's going after Rika because she is the one thing that never left Nonaka's mind. The serum—the virus—it removes the carrier's humanity. It probably recognizes Rika, but doesn't realize she's the daughter he loved."

Takato was virtually paralyzed. The thing that was trying to kill his best friend was her dad. Her dad, who was some secret scientist, with Yamaki, who were developing something dangerous. Yamaki got out, but Nonaka didn't.

"What did you take?" Takato suddenly asked, indicating the yellow container.

Yamaki handed it to him. "This is the prototype of the cure we used to bring the first subject back to normal."

"Can we use it to kill that thing?" Takato suddenly asked, hopefully.

"No." Yamaki said flatly. "Nonaka is too far gone to be saved. He's already mutated. I do, believe, however, that it will kill someone infected with it _before_ mutation."

"What?" Takato really didn't understand.

"What's made Nonaka what he is, it's a virus. And it's likely contagious. My best guess is it'd be transmitted through blood. If that creature attacks someone, and that someone survives, it could very likely turn into one of those creatures. I want you to take this incase that happens."

"You want me to kill someone!" Takato snarled.

"I want you to be able to defend yourself and your friends. That serum in your hands is 95 likely to kill the human in a person as well as the monster. I know those aren't odds you want to take, but I want you to have the option. Please understand."

Takato held back his tears. It seemed like yesterday he was ordered to allow Henry's father to get attacked. And he did. Now he's basically been given a loaded gun. He wasn't even considering using it on anyone, he was sure they'd find another way. But he put it in his pocket absentmindedly; a whisper in the back of his head telling him that he may not have a choice.

--

**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

Okay, I hope you enjoyed that. Takato's just getting things worse and worse. The next chapter or two will _probably_ parallel the big action scene in Crescendo, which, of course, Takato plays a more important part than you initially think.

Hey, I broke 10,000 words! I made this one a few hundred words longer to make up for the 500 I spent talking to the wonderful people who reviewed.

Anyways, what I wanted to emphasize in this chapter is how Takato is worried he's being followed blindly by his friends, while, in a way, following Yamaki blindly himself. I also wanted to illustrate how he almost prioritizes his friends—he mentions he wants to protect Jeri and Ryo above all else, even when he knows Rika's the one in the most danger.

Please review, I love constructive feedback/criticism.

Peace,

-N


	5. Full Circle

--

"Loyalty is still the same,

Whether it win or lose the game;

True as a dial to the sun,

Although it be not shined upon."

Samuel Butler

--

Review. Lots. Please.

**Summary:**

Okay, so, the story so far. Something bad had been attacking the monster makers, and many anticipated Henry's father to be the next on the list. Yamaki confirms this in confidence to Takato, informing him of a nearly exact date and time when the attack would occur. He convinces Takato to keep the information to himself, to allow Henry's father to be attacked so the others can be saved. Yamaki enlists Takato's help in an investigation of who or what is behind the attacks, and what their goal is.

Yamaki's plan almost works perfectly—Henry's father and the other programmers are all saved. Mr. Wong confides in the Tamers that it was their identities which were being sought by the attacker. The attacker itself was described behaviorally and physically as almost like a digital monster. The Tamers decide that none of them should be alone, and some new living arrangements are made. Rika, whose mother and grandmother would not be nearby, moves in with Ryo, whose house is in a decidedly more desirable location. Jeri, also presently living alone, moves in with Takato.

Rika and Ryo are on their way to Takato's place when they first see the creature itself, which prepares to attack them. A police officer attempts to protect them, and gets completely eviscerated for his efforts. Rika and Ryo are convinced it is a digital monster, but without any partners to fight with, they take flight. Takato sees this, and calls Yamaki, who tells them that the creature is much too slow to be able to catch his friends. He also informs Takato that he has some information that needs to come into light: the monster is specifically after Rika.

Yamaki confesses to Takato that he has analyzed samples of the attacker collected from Mr. Wong's rescue, and confirms that it is—or was—human, not a digimon. Specifically, it is Rika's father, an old colleague of Yamaki and another scientist, Dr. Alexander Valn. Yamaki suspects that Valn turned their bio-organic research against Rika's father, and has mutated as a result of the infection. Yamaki gives Takato his only remaining piece of research from his past work: a serum which can kill the infection early on. If someone were to contract the virus that Rika's father carries, they would in all likelihood turn into a bloodthirsty monster as he has.

Takato's been given a weapon with which he may be able to protect his friends, but may come at the cost of a human life. While Yamaki and his team come up with a way to stop Rika's father once and for all, Takato must hide the secrets from his friends who trust him.

--

**Reviews:**

**The-3-Amigos: **I'm really glad you're enjoying this! I put a little summary above, since it looks like some people aren't getting that Takato's serum isn't a virus, but a way to kill someone who has it. Hope to hear from you again soon!

**Saith-chan:** I'm happy you don't mind me making more terrible things happen to Rika. Poor girl! I'm sure something good'll happen to her one of these days.

**Fluffeh the Great: **Wooh! Someone who likes Takato! I read some reviews for Crescendo, and when I saw that some people wanted him to get infected, I was like, "Oh, crap." I hope I'm not making him unlikable. At least when he's forced to do something he doesn't want to, he's the kind of guy who'd at least try to get some sort of redemption afterwards. About Frontier, I just couldn't get into it after Tamers. I think Tamers was just too good, that it makes other things just look bad by comparison. Tragic, no? Well, I should probably let you guys get to reading the story.

--

Jeri wiped the sweat from her brow as she found herself both trying to sleep, as well as struggling to stay awake. The dreams she'd been having weren't as bad as one's she'd had in the past—the D-Reaper haunted her for months in her sleep after it was defeated—but they were still unnerving enough to disrupt her much-needed rest. She'd had a lot on her mind lately—some pretty mixed emotions about her decision to live with him. The decidedly most important reason that she did was that it would be safer for both of them. Two sets of eyes are better than one, and she hoped—she _knew_ that he wasn't just patronizing her, not just trying to protect her. She wanted to protect _him_. She didn't know how she would, but she was sure that if she had to put herself in danger to protect him, she would. Without question.

The complications, however, concerned not her opinion of Takato, but Takato's opinion of her. She'd been worried lately that he didn't trust her. He'd phoned her almost a week ago sounding completely distraught. For the first time that she could remember, he wouldn't tell her what was wrong. The pain of that ate at her. Caring about someone—trusting someone who may not trust her back—it hurt her to think about. So she tried not to. She trusted him, and that was the most important thing. So there she lay, resting in her own bed after their recent move, thinking of the boy in the room next to her. Of course she wanted answers, and she was certain that Takato would tell her if and when he was ready to.

_He'll tell you. Someday he'll tell you._

Jeri smiled to herself a little bit. She knew she wasn't an especially confident person, but she trusted her thoughts on that. It was weird, though: she wasn't scared. She was somehow certain that everything would be okay. They'd make it through this.

_Always did before._

She smiled a little wider. She glances an eye towards the red display of her clock near her bed. It read that it was 6:03 am. She knew that she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep if she tried, and she wasn't going to waste the time. Takato got back from his drive with Yamaki late the night before. Jeri had pretended to be asleep, but she wasn't sure why. Maybe because Henry had volunteered to stay with her while Takato was out, and she was worried she might blurt out something she or Takato wouldn't want said. She'd heard Henry ask Takato what was said, but it didn't sound like Yamaki had any new leads. She'd also heard Henry say that his mother would be picking him up shortly, which relieved Jeri, who would no doubt be worrying herself sick about his well-being had he been walking home alone.

She pulled herself out of bed, not bothering to glance out the window as she knew there wouldn't be anything worth seeing. She carefully crept out her room and down the stairs, taking special effort to avoid the creaky spots on the floor she'd become so familiar with. She wasn't particularly hungry or thirsty, but had a craving for cereal, so she was on her way to the kitchen. She almost jumped out of her skin when she realized there was someone in there already, and raced to think of a way to hide the embarrassing squeaking sound she made after she realized it was Takato. She took notice as he stuffed something yellow into his pocket.

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting you to come down." Takato said. "Couldn't sleep?"

"It's alright, Takato." Jeri replied honestly. "You know me, I'm jumpy. And no, just not tired. What about you? You were up late."

"Nah, just a little distracted. You know, 'and miles to go', and all that." He said with a weak smile.

_Do it._

"How was your talk with Yamaki? Any great, startlingly-brilliant new plans?" She asked both playfully and hopefully.

_Not that._

"No, nothing solid. But he's got some ideas. He gave me these." Takato said, suddenly a little excited, as he indicated a small grey box on the table. He opened it, and Jeri saw inside five small glass needles. Vials, each with a faintly-colored liquid inside.

"What are those?" She asked plainly.

"Yamaki thinks they might slow that thing down. You know, weaken it, so maybe something else might be able to stop it. He's got a good feeling." He smiled at her, and though she didn't completely believe he was as hopeful as he sounded, she smiled back. But just for a second.

"Wait, how are we supposed to use those? He can't expect you to go right up to it—" she suddenly realized.

"Oh, he's working on that. He's thinking some kind of dart gun. You know Yamaki, with the triple-checking. Good for us, though, I guess. He'll get it to us." He said confidently. His voice then took a turn towards sounding worried. "But please don't tell the others about these. I don't want to get their hopes up—"

_Hm._

"I promise, don't worry." Jeri said truthfully. She wondered if she should be hurt that he didn't want to get _her_ hopes up, but was too busy being happy that he was trusting her with something. Jeri liked being trusted. A lot.

_Ask._

"Takato," she began, "are you okay? You've been acting pretty distant lately."

"Oh, y-yeah," he stammered, obviously taken aback. She frowned a little.

"Come on, I know there's stuff you're not telling me, and that's okay. It's fine to have secrets. But you know I'm here for you, whether you need me to be or not, right?" Jeri suddenly questioned herself on whether or not Takato actually was hiding something, incredibly concerned of how ridiculous she'd sound if he wasn't. But she was too caught up to stop now. "It's okay if you don't trust me enough to tell me about—about whatever, but—I want to help, Takato. I know you're upset, and I don't like seeing you that way. So just—keep that in mind, okay? I'm—we're all here for you, Takato. I'll be there for you." She concluded, almost in a whisper.

_Always._

The seconds that followed might as well have been minutes, as the silence slapped Jeri around painfully. She couldn't think of a situation that'd been so awkward. It'd been a long time since she'd let out as much at once as she had just there. She usually had more control over herself than that. She supposed the silence was her punishment for that. So when Takato opened his mouth to speak, she found it to be a relief, even over her uncertainty of whether or not she'd like what he was going to say.

"Jeri, of course I trust you." He said as he looked at her in the eyes, something she'd missed lately. "I told Yamaki that I wouldn't tell anyone a lot of things, and I've been wanting to. Lots. I'll tell you some of them now, if you'll hear it."

Jeri hadn't been expecting that. She expected him to either deny everything, or be upset with her, or something, but not offer to confess something. She wondered just what it could be that would cause someone as great as Takato to break a promise. Jeri'd usually never condone that, but she promptly labeled this as an acceptable circumstance. She suddenly felt guilty that she pushed him into telling her. She still wanted to know everything, but refused to let herself ask for it all. She made herself settle.

"Just—something. Anything. Anything you're comfortable with telling me. And I'm sorry if I yelled at you there, I just—" she trailed off.

"It's okay, I had it coming." He said with a coy little smile on his face, and relief in his voice. If anything, she was glad that she could share whatever burden it is with him. She waited for a moment as Takato thought something over. Thought of what to tell her. She knew he wouldn't lie. Maybe he wouldn't tell her the whole truth, but he wouldn't lie. He wouldn't.

"Okay." He began. "Yamaki thinks that the monster isn't a digimon. He thinks it's human. He says that there were three scientists who were developing some kind of virus. It turned people into monsters. So, Scientist 1 runs away after he sees how dangerous it is what they were doing. Scientist 2 and 3 go crazy, and 2 infects 3. What Yamaki thinks is that Scientist 2 is controlling 3, who's now that monster. So we don't want to just attack that thing, we want to find a way to cure it. 'Cause it's a person that can't help what they're doing."

Jeri let what Takato said sink in. Her eyes watered. Not because she was happy to be trusted by someone she cared about, not because she was scared of something going bump in the night, and not because she was upset about something else. Because she knew. She knew what it was like. Not being herself, becoming something else. After the D-Reaper—nobody else knew, none of the other tamers. They couldn't understand what it was like. Jeri was crying because she sympathized with the thing that had forced to kill. Like she'd been. She understood. She knew. And she wanted to help.

--

Takato instantly questioned whether or not he did the right thing in telling Jeri the truth.

_The truth?_

Well, even the partial truth. He knew Yamaki would be furious if he found out, and suddenly remembered him telling Takato that he was prepared to detain him if he wasn't willing to keep the information he was shared with confidential. He wondered if he just put Jeri in danger. He trusted her not to tell, but he still worried. Lately the only things in Takato's life he was able to count on were being mind-numbingly uncomfortable and guilty around everyone, and Jeri.

He'd told her about Dr. Nonaka, Yamaki, and that Valn guy. He didn't use names, obviously. The one thing he minded the least about lying about everything was that he would _not_ tell Rika that that thing was her father. If he told Jeri, it'd put her in a position where she might be tempted to confess it to her. Besides, Jeri was even better friends with Rika than Takato was; he wouldn't put her in that position.

_Rika can never know._

Takato paced around the guest bedroom of Jeri's house. He put his hands on his cheeks for a second, stopping after the process brought him nothing but an uncomfortable chill to his face.

_She thinks her dad is dead. And he is._

He repeated the thought over and over, gradually convincing himself. There was no way that there was anything left of Dr. Nonaka in that thing. He turned his attention back to his broken promise to Yamaki.

_Jeri can be trusted._

Takato knew it to be true, but couldn't help but have regrets. She'd almost broken down when she'd practically begged him to talk to her. He'd barely noticed how little he'd seen or actually talked to her lately.

_Too tangled up in your own crap—_

Then he told her. Not much, but more than he knew he should have. And then she actually _did_ break down. And Takato knew why, too. Jeri'd confided in him once how the worst part about the D-Reaper experience was losing her free will. He knew she identified it right away, but he didn't realize just how much she could sympathize with it while he was telling her. He wondered what will have changed now that she knows something. He contemplated telling Yamaki, but decided against it. He looked towards the grey case of various serums that Yamaki believed to be worth trying against the virus. There was virtually no chance any of them would stop that thing. Yamaki'd made these from scratch, based purely on his memory of his previous research. Valn had had seven years to modify the virus to the point that it was beyond Yamaki's recognition. He frowned a little at having to lie to Jeri about using something to inject them from a distance.

Days passed. Almost two weeks, actually, and Takato actually was happy for a few moments. He'd forgotten how good it felt to be honest with someone, even if only a little. He didn't talk to Yamaki or his friends much in that time. He found it easier to lie to them when he didn't have to speak with them. Rika was the only one of them he said absolutely nothing to. He just couldn't bring himself to. He'd phoned to speak with Ryo once, and hung up the phone when it was Rika who answered.

He'd even gone out with his friends a few times. Saw a movie with Jeri, too. It was almost like life had gone back to normal. But he knew it hadn't—and he wouldn't let himself forget that. It reminded him of life returning to normal after the digimon. He wouldn't let himself forget about them, either.

The thought of Guilmon passed through his mind, and almost on queue, his phone rang. He glanced at the display, and saw that it was Yamaki. And what he had to say Takato had only dreamed of hearing.

"We've opened a way to the digital world." Yamaki said firmly.

Takato was sure his heart stopped. Even through all the guilt and shame he'd been carrying, he smiled. He couldn't help but. He'd get to see Guilmon again. He knew Yamaki had been trying to open a gate in hopes that the digimon could help them fight Dr. Nonaka; it was Takato's idea. But Yamaki'd said the chances were slim-to-none. But he did it. Yamaki came through. Takato snapped out of his blissful trance when Yamaki spoke again.

"_Takato!_" he almost yelled. "The creature is on its way to Rika and Ryo now. Get everyone to the park immediately."

"What about Rika and Ryo?" He demanded.

"There's been a few digimon that have emerged already, we're trying to veer them towards those two. That's all we can do."

Takato couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew Yamaki wasn't being cold-hearted, he knew that Yamaki loved all the Tamers. But hearing him say those words, saying that Rika and Ryo couldn't be saved—

_No._

Not a chance. Clicking his phone shut, he stuffed the grey box in his right pocket, and he already had the yellow one in his left. He grabbed a third and final thing, something he was certain he'd need—his D-Arc. He ran downstairs to find a startled Jeri looking at him with confusion.

"Jeri, Yamaki can get us to the digital world. I need you to phone everyone and get them to the park right now, okay?" He told her frantically. "Call them and get them to the park, okay? I'll meet you there soon." He turned and almost ran to the door.

"Takato!" Jeri shouted after him. He stopped, turned, and looked at her.

_I love you._

"I'll be there, Jeri." He said too quietly for her to hear, before he ran.

Takato was certain he could be at Ryo's house soon. He'd often gone from Jeri's to his, or his to Jeri's, and knew all the little shortcuts. Yamaki didn't say how much time he had before that thing got there—possibly because Takato didn't give him the opportunity to.

_All the more reason to hurry your ass up._

He pushed harder. Takato was in good shape, and was a very good runner. He was finally thankful for all those soccer practices he'd complained about so much years ago. He kept his focus on what had to be done. Saving Ryo and Rika. He didn't want the possibility of being saved by a stray digimon to be their only defense.

He finally arrived at Ryo's house to hear the sound of breaking glass. He quickly set down the grey box, and took out two of the needles, and removed their caps. He grabbed a nearby metal baseball bat from the front step that him and Ryo had deformed from hitting rocks into the water in their eternal boredom, and held his breath.

_Not gonna let this thing—_

The door then _crashed_ open, and Ryo _flew_ out, almost dragging Rika beside him. He wasn't sure if he was glad or not that they weren't looking back. He put the thought aside, gripped, the bat tightly, glanced in the window, and swung as hard as he could. It made a strong contact, and the backfire almost knocked Takato down. Still, he could tell he at least pissed the thing off enough to get its attention. He dropped the bat and grabbed a needle in each hand as it dove at him. He jumped clumsily, but still managed to avoid being hit. He spun around and slammed both injections into its tail. He looked up from the needles to the creature's face.

_Shit._

No good. Two down, two to go. Takato moved backwards in a motion that was a mix between a jump and a roll. He was ready to go for the grey box with the other two needles in it when a large black blur tore through the wall and knocked the creature down.

_Digimon._

He wanted to be relieved, but knew it didn't have a chance. He scooped up the box in one hand, and was going for the bat when he heard the digimon speak.

"Get out of here! Go now!" it growled.

_Gonna get deleted. Gonna die._

But Takato couldn't help. He looked it in its eyes as he turned to run. He knew there wasn't anything he could do, not then. At the very best he could make sure that saving his life wasn't a mistake. He pulled out his phone and called Rika. It rang twice before she answered.

"Look, _really_ bad time!" she snapped.

"Rika, I just talked to Yamaki," Takato said clearly as he ran after her. "Get to the park, fast!"

He was sure he heard an affirmative grunt, and hung up the phone. He was sure he'd be able to make it to the park before they would, Takato knew the way around the forest far better than Ryo did. He quickly veered left, taking cover behind a large tree.

_Need to get behind that thing._

He didn't see it. He suddenly wondered if the first two injections _had_ done something. It might have just taken a little bit to kick in.

_Don't get your hopes up._

He looked eagerly for the thing trying to kill his friends, and finally saw it a few seconds later. He waited for it to run past him, and then began chasing it. He was faster than the monster, and managed to stay behind trees, keeping out of sight. But when he was certain that the lump he saw on the ground in the distance wasn't a rock, but Ryo, he threw caution to the wind and ran harder. The thing was heading straight for him. Takato clutched a needle in each hand, leaving the now-empty box on the ground. He'd managed to get behind a tree that was between Ryo and Dr. Nonaka.

_Just a little—_

He waited for his moment.

—_bit—_

The creature got within range. It readied to dive towards Ryo, and Takato spun out from behind the tree, and drove the remaining two serums into the monster's side. He looked on in terror as it howled and dove at Ryo.

_Oh god, no—_

But Ryo moved. He dove out of the way, and was back running again. Takato knew that one of those injections had done _something_, it was definitely moving a bit slower. Sluggish, even. He inhaled sharply, and headed not towards Rika and Ryo, but to the park. He knew from the route that Rika and Ryo were moving that they were going to take longer, but they'd definitely have more cover. Takato ran full-speed through one of his own personal favorite shortcuts, forcing the worry out of his mind, letting his adrenaline carry him.

When he got to the park, he saw Jeri waving at him from the top of the hill that had Guilmon's house on it. He ran in, and saw Henry, Kazu, and Kenta as well.

Takato was worried sick. Rika'd sounded so anxious over the phone, out of breath, and he could hear the wind blowing into the phone. He knew she could take care of herself, and that she'd be fine, Ryo was with her, but-

-_But even the Legendary Tamer couldn't kill that thing himself_.

Trying to stay focused, he turned his attention back to Henry, an unsure look on his face as he followed his father's instructions over his cell phone into a laptop computer, hooked neatly up with his Digivice. Kazu and Kenta were busy pacing around outside, and Jeri was sitting on the wall adjacent to the entrance to their old hideout, her knees pulled up to her chin, staring out at the park as if she'd never seen it before.

He started towards Henry, but quickly turned around and looked back outside for a sign of Rika and Ryo. Although it was unsaid, it was a certainty among the group that they may not be coming back home for a while. They had to go to the Digital World if they wanted a chance of killing the creature that had been hunting them, and there was still so much they didn't know.

_Like why it's after us, and why now. I think I should go alone_... _This was my idea. The responsibility of everyone else ends up at me_._ How could I live with myself if I knew that one of them died to the hands of that-that _thing. _It's not going to just roll over and die, and we don't even have enough firepower_ _to make it turn an eye_.

He shuddered, feeling the weight on his shoulders push down threefold. Just thinking about it made him want to break down and cry, but he just couldn't let that happen. Inhaling sharply, he refocused and went back to lookout.

The minutes passed. Yamaki had phoned him, telling him that they'll be transported to a mountain when they enter the gate. Takato replied with monosyllabically, too worried about his friends' safety. Finally, there was a movement in the distance.

_Rika._

He jumped and shouted and waved at her to hurry up. He turned his head back inside for a moment as he saw the portal open up.

"Everybody, in, now!" he barked.

There were no objections, and they entered, leaving Takato outside.

Rika was a little closer, and Takato was still smiling—

—but he stopped smiling when he saw that she was limping, and that thing was closing in on her.

He ran down towards her, but she'd fallen, and it was on top of her. It raised a foot—

_Foot?_

The thing was definitely different. It'd evolved—

—and it didn't slam it down. In fact, nothing happened. Takato didn't even blink at the scene. There he was, paralyzed with fear. Rika was on the ground, cowering, and some unholy monster was in the position to stamp her out. But it didn't.

Instead, it ran. Away. It was moving faster, but it wasn't coming after them anymore. Rika got up, and Takato stared with her into the trees in the distance behind which it ran.

"What just happened?" he asked quietly.

"Who knows? Maybe it had to get back to its wife and kids." Rika said in her usual tone.

_Ugh._

Takato felt sick at the irony that Rika sure as hell didn't see. Then felt sicker when he realized that Ryo wasn't there.

"Where's Ryo?" he asked suddenly. He hadn't even noticed he wasn't there.

"Digital World by now. Renamon and Cyberdramon are with him. That thing beat him up pretty badly, but I imagined it would be easier to deal with in the Digital World, away from that thing."

"Good call. We ready?"

"Whenever you are, goggle-head." He walked her inside, and entered the portal. The shift was faster than he remembered, maybe because he had so much on his mind.

"..Where is he?" She asked.

"He should be right in that cave up there..." Takato replied while staring into the device his hand. "Away we go."

"Whee..." She whispered hopefully.

The climb up the mountain could have been worse. Takato was too numbed with being overwhelmed with everything to pay much attention to any pain he might have been in. They eventually reached the top, which consisted of a giant flat plateau with large cave. Renamon and Cyberdramon were standing guard outside of it. He knew from the looks on their faces that Ryo was alive. Rika ran inside, the only one having enough energy left to do so. Takato just lay there, staring up at the sky. He closed his eyes for a few seconds. Not to get to sleep, but because he could.

Maybe he did go to sleep. But it couldn't have been long before he felt—no, smelled the disturbingly familiar process of Guilmon licking his face. His eyes shot open and he threw his arms around his friend. He squeezed him tightly, his eyes clenched shut. He hadn't been this happy in a while. He let go of his friend, and only looked him over for a second before he hugged him close again, laughing. Things finally felt right.

He looked around to see Henry, Kazu, and Kenta reuniting with their partners as well. Jeri looked on, but didn't seem sad. She'd dealt with Leomon's death, and Takato knew that she was just happy to see everyone as together as they could be. He still had an arm around Guilmon when his phone rang. He didn't look at the display, as he knew it was Yamaki.

"Hey, we're okay Mr. Yamaki." Takato said, not particularly caring if anyone knew who he was talking to.

"No you're not." He said coldly. Takato stiffened a little bit. "I've gone over the readings, Takato—Ryo is infected."

--

I hope you enjoyed. So, this chapter here covers from the second half of **Crescendo**'s chapter 4, through the end of 8. I didn't expect this chapter to be so ridiculously long, but I didn't think I had many opportunities to end it. Anyways, after the next chapter, I'll start resuming work on Crescendo and Atlas concurrently, since it should bring them up to the same point in time.

Peace, and I beg of you to review.

N


	6. Correct Decisions?

--

Sorry it's taken so long. I just started my first year of university. Anyways, this one should bring this story up to the same point as the other one. Enjoy, and please review with some comments, advice, suggestions, whatever.

On to the show:

-N

--

"The best things in life are never rationed. Friendship, loyalty, love do not require coupons."

- George Hewitt

--

_Oh my God._

Takato literally froze. He almost even fainted. He felt as if everything was happening slower—as if his own senses were heightened, when he knew in reality he wouldn't have been able to see turtle charge at him. Yamaki's words echoed through his mind. Ryo was infected.

_Oh God no, not Ryo, not—_

"Takato, he's infected. He's _changing_. He'll turn into what Dr. Nonaka is, maybe something worse. I don't like the situation any more than you do but you know what that means you have to do."

_This isn't happening._

He must have muttered it outloud, because Guilmon shifted under his hand, looking into his eyes curiously. Takato absentmindedly stroked his hand on the side of his partner's face reassuringly. Takato had been squatting, and he barely noticed as flopped backwards to a sitting position. What he _did_ notice, however, was the feel of the object in his pocket that drove itself into his thigh as he shifted.

_No. Ryo, no._

The weight belonged to the yellow box. The serum. The weapon. The failsafe given to him to protect the tamers from a new infection carrier. He knew what Yamaki was going to ask him to do. He'd tell him it had to be done. He'd tell him that Ryo would be as much of a threat to him and his friends as Dr. Nonaka is. He'd tell him Ryo will kill him. Takato even knew. But he obviously rejected the thought of using the serum on Ryo.

_He's my best friend…_

What Yamaki told him was nearly verbatim to what he had anticipated. Takato wasn't really listening. He knew he should have, but he couldn't. He could always ask Yamaki later to repeat what he said; he probably understood how shocking this came. Takato soon realized that it wasn't so much the responsibility of being the one forced to make the decision or not to stop Ryo—

—_to kill_ _him_—

—but it was the thought of losing him at all. If what Yamaki had told him was true, and he had no reason to believe it wasn't…then Ryo was already dead. No cure, no way to stop the infection…no hope? Ryo was his best friend. There were things Takato had told Ryo that he hadn't even told Jeri. Whether he used the serum or not, Ryo would still be gone. If he did use it, he'd be protecting the Tamers—protecting his friends—most of them. But he'd be betraying them just as much. So there Takato stood—or sat—with lives of people he loved in each hand—certain that he'd never felt so helpless.The last thing he remembered hearing before he hung up the phone to help make things quieter for him was Yamaki saying, "He's got two weeks, three at the most, and he'll kill you all."

--

Takato was sitting outside the cave. He held the yellow case, staring at its contents. The clear liquid in the small syringe. He thought about the responsibility that had been placed upon him, as he had every single second since it became just how important it was. Over and over, he rolled the needle through his fingers, watching the surface of the fluid dance.

_Can end it all. Now._

He'd been told that Ryo would have two weeks, three at the most, and he'd be gone. After that, all that would be left is his body, and it would change, too. Then Ryo would be just like Dr. Nonaka—like Rika's father. Walking around with no soul, hurting people he once loved. May still love.

Ryo was his best friend. He didn't need to think for a moment what that meant to him. If he could trade places with him—give his life for Ryo's—he would. In a second.

_But you can't._

He thought of all the lies he'd told the past few weeks. Lies told straight to the faces of the friends that trusted him. Takato deserved to be the one to be infected. Not Ryo. But he knew that wasn't an option. He knew that using the serum would be the greater good.

_The greater good._

The phrase had lost all meaning to him. It'd become more of an excuse than anything else. He remembered what Jeri had told him about the importance of it.

_Jeri._

Takato ran his hand through his hair, still not taking his eyes off the injection in his other hand.

_What would she do?_

He thought back to a conversation he'd had with her a few days before. He hadn't given her any details about Ryo being infected, but managed to ask her what she'd do if she had to fight for one of their lives, against all odds, and at great risk to a great number of people. He hoped she didn't assume he was talking about Ryo, as Ryo's condition was appearing to improve dramatically

"Takato, when I was inside the D-Reaper, none of you gave up on me. When I found that out, I swore I'd never give up on any of you."

. If he didn't stop Ryo, he'd come after her. And Henry. And Kazu, and Kenta. And Rika.

_Ryo wouldn't want that._

The thought of Jeri being chased by one of those monsters—by Ryo—flashed through his mind as it had in his dreams the past four days. And it terrified him. Even if he died first himself, he couldn't imagine dying before keeping her safe. He then remembered what Jeri told him about never giving up on any of them. When she told him that, he swore to himself he wouldn't give up on her, either. He loved her too much to ever give up on her.

_Love?_

He hadn't considered giving up on Ryo before it became a fact that delaying the infection would basically be giving up on his friends.

_Ryo's life, for theirs?_

Three weeks, tops. What would Ryo want if he knew? Takato knew the answer already. He knew Ryo too well. Ryo would give his life in a minute if it meant protecting everyone. If anyone would volunteer to go down for a cause, be it protecting someone who doesn't know you exist, or a blaze of glory, Ryo would in a heartbeat. Takato knew that that was why he couldn't tell Ryo. He couldn't hear Ryo ask him to use it. Never. And Takato wouldn't pass off the burden onto Ryo.

"_It's the weight that _you_ gotta carry._" He reminded himself

Takato realized how much time he'd spent during that session of sitting and thinking. He was supposed to have changed Ryo's bandages twenty minutes ago. Takato and Ryo were the only people in the group who knew any first aid at all, so Takato had been the one to spend the most time with him. He didn't need to do much, though, really. Yamaki had told him that the infection will heal him quickly, and Takato had seen that Yamaki was correct. Still, Takato wanted to keep him comfortable, if anything else. He put the needle carefully back into its case, which he then slid into his pocket. He picked up the bag of bandages, put on his poker face, and went inside.

"Hey buddy." Takato whispered.

_Asleep?_

There was no response. "Ryo?" he whispered a little louder. He squinted and saw Ryo's silhouette, and it wasn't moving. Takato inched closer, unsure what to make of it.

"Ryo?" he said, a little louder. It took him a while to realize, but he soon did. Ryo wasn't breathing.

_Oh, shit, no—_

Yamaki'd said Ryo had three weeks, it had only been four days. It didn't make sense, why would Ryo—

"Ryo." He whispered aloud, feeling a tear roll down his cheek as he reached forward to put his hand on his shoulder.

If his heart hadn't stopped already, it would have when Ryo suddenly jolted to life, flying into Takato, knocking him backwards, and landing on top of him in one fast motion.

_I'm gonna die—_

But when Ryo then rolled off him and broke into a roaring fit of laughter, he found relief. He didn't move still, didn't smile until he realized something. Something that made him hate himself a little less—he never reached for the needle.

He finally found himself able to enjoy Ryo's prank. He laughed with him for a while, and even had a few seconds of solace where he didn't feel like he was carrying half the burden he was. But a few seconds was plenty more than he'd recently hoped for.

"I hate you." He lied, as tradition dictated, before he finally joined in the laughter. "How's your wound? You know, before your tasteless little joke."

"Getting better. That didn't hurt nearly as much as I was expecting it to. Bandages are itchy as hell, though."

"Should probably change them." Takato forced himself to say, ignoring Ryo's comments of his condition 'improving'. He reached for the bag of bandages he'd dropped when Ryo tackled him, and pulled out a roll. Ryo, meanwhile, carefully lifted his shirt, exposing his current bandage, which had comparatively less blood soaking through. Takato suppressed a frown as Ryo poked at it in amazement of his supposed improvements.

"Cool." Ryo murmured.

Takato forced himself to ignore Ryo. He focused his attention on the bandages, convincing himself that it was important, and had to be done right. He wet the bandages, and removed some scissors from the bag.

"Where's Rika?" Ryo asked. Takato'd been a little curious as to what was going on with those two. He couldn't bring himself to hold any upset feelings towards either of them if something _was_ going on, after all he himself hid from them. Still, it hurt him.

"Out killing things with Renamon and Jeri." Takato replied quickly. Takato had in fact been encouraging Rika to keep away from Ryo, but he wasn't obvious about it. He made the effort to suggest around her that the area needs to be patrolled regularly, and Rika seemed to be wanting to busy herself, heightening her suspicions of her having a relationship with Ryo. He knew she and Renamon could handle anything in this particular area of the digital world. His own motive for it, however, was that he couldn't handle lying to the three of them at the same time in the same place. He managed to push on, though. He had to. He carefully cut the bandages off of Ryo, and gently peeled them away after pressing the wet cloth against them.

Takato glanced at the wound, which was healing amazingly well. Under any other circumstance, he'd obviously be overjoyed. But he couldn't be. He started wrapping the new bandages.

"So how's life?" Ryo asked casually.

"Crappy as ever." Takato blurt out before he could restrain himself.

Ryo looked at him. It seemed like the first time in a very long while that eye contact was made. "Oh, I'm—I'm sorry, Takato. I know you'd rather be anywhere else than stuck in a cave." Ryo said awkwardly but sincerely.

"No, that's not—that's not what I meant—I don't mind being _here_, here. It's just some other stuff's been on my mind." Takato replied near-instantly. He couldn't believe he let _Ryo_ feel bad about this.

"Like what?"

"Like why we're here. Like, why us, you know? Like why something chased you, and injured you for protecting Rika."

_Damn it._ Rika and Ryo had made up a story they told everyone else. Takato knew they were lying because he was there, he saw them.

"Well, it's just our luck, you know?" Ryo said, in his contagiously-optimistic manner. "We'll see it through. We always have."

_Yeah. Just our luck._

Takato didn't say anything. The reason being not of guilt, but because he couldn't think of anything _to_ say.

_Luck. Roll of the dice._

In a way he was glad of where he was right then. He forced himself to admit the truth. Ryo would have been infected whether or not Takato had helped Yamaki. It wasn't his fault. He repeated the thought in his mind, and even started to believe it. He wanted to tell Ryo that not only did he not mind being in the cave helping him, but was glad to. But he chose, for whatever reason, not to express that. Takato still was the leader. People were depending on him. He had to take care of everyone; of Jeri, of Ryo, and of everyone else.

Takato finished wrapping the bandages, and bound them with a pin he'd asked Ryo to hold. Ryo slid back into his shirt, and began standing up. Takato nearly jumped up himself, preparing to catch him, but he didn't need to, as Ryo kept his balance.

"Well look't that." Ryo said quietly with a grin.

Takato managed a smile before turning to head outside. He was nearly out before he heard Ryo call.

"Hey, did you drop this?"

Takato didn't need to check his pocket to realize the weight was missing. He turned around, and saw Ryo holding the case containing the serum. He hurried over to Ryo, and almost snatched the case out of his hands. He looked it over quickly, making sure it was still sealed.

_You'll need that. To take care of him._

He turned, and headed outside before he lost his nerve. He reached the end of the cliff, opened up the case, and threw the needle as far and as hard as he could over the edge. There was no way he'd use it. He'd find another way to bring him back.

--

"You _what_?" Yamaki demanded.

"I got rid of it. It's gone." Takato replied firmly.

"Takato, I admire your loyalty to your friend, but I honestly don't see us finding another way to deal with this." Yamaki said coldly.

Takato would have felt bad for upsetting Mr. Yamaki if the errands he'd been running for him hadn't left him with so much pent-up piss-iness. He was almost enjoying it.

"We'll find another way. We have to. I'm not giving up on Ryo." He said, reflecting upon what Jeri had told him."

_Not gonna let him die out of bad luck._

"…Okay." Yamaki said finally. "You've got my support."

_Finally._

Takato had been on the phone with him for quite some time trying to convince him so. He believed that he had, too. He trusted Yamaki not to kill Ryo himself if he got the chance. "Thank you, Mr. Yamaki." He said sincerely.

"Mm. Is he showing any improvements from his wounds?"

"Yeah, he is."

"Damn. Alright, I just got some data in that implies that the infection spreads noticeably faster when the carrier is asleep."

"Uh huh…" Takato murmured involuntarily.

"The more active you keep his mind while he's awake, the longer he'll have." Yamaki continued. "Keep him occupied. Keep him busy, and keep him thinking."

"What should we do?" Takato asked, almost at a loss as to carry out Yamaki's suggestions.

"Find that serum and use it?" Yamaki said bitterly.

"Besides that."

"Talk to him. It will keep him conscious and at least a little alert."

Takato was happy to hear that. He'd been doing a lot of that anyways, which means he'd at least bought Ryo some time. And Takato himself sure didn't mind.

"Okay."

"I'll open a portal for you in a few days. You're best off in the digital world if the serum isn't going to be used. If we're unable to cure him, then he can at least be quarantined." Yamaki said, changing tones completely.

"How long?" Takato asked, ignoring the last statement.

"A few days." Yamaki repeated. "We're still trying to track Dr. Nonaka."

"Hmm. You'll have us home by then?"

"Yes, I will."

"See you soon." Takato clicked his phone shut. It was then he turned to see Jeri and Rika approaching, followed by Renamon and Cyberdramon. He quickly thought about what he'd just said aloud, and realized he didn't say anything incriminating.

"Hey." He greeted with a smile. "How'd it go?"

"Nothing that half a chance against us." Rika replied smugly. "How's Ryo?" she asked immediately after.

"Better and better." He said, part truthfully. "He's asleep right now," he lied. "Don't get too close to him. He tackled me halfway outside earlier."

"Um," Jeri started. "I think we're gonna choose to ignore that for now." Takato grinned. He felt so relieved, even under the current situation. He felt confident that they really would find a way to help Ryo. It was like that serum weighed a few tons he didn't have to carry around anymore.

"Where's everyone?" Jeri asked.

"Out and about. Probably looking for you guys. They'll be back soon, I'd think."

In fact, Takato had asked Henry to keep everyone busy for a little while, saying he needed nobody barging in bothering Ryo. Takato really needed the time to talk to Yamaki. They _would_ be back soon, though.

"So what was the phone call about? Do we have a plan?" Rika asked.

_Crap._

Takato did his best to hide the worry on his face. "Well," he began, "that was Mr. Wong. He said that we shouldn't stay here too long. Whatever attacked you guys behaved at least in part like a digimon. He says we should predict it could follow us here. Mr. Wong says that we'd best keep on the move. But with Ryo's injuries, I'm thinking we're better off in this world."

_Believable?_

He'd thought when he'd rejected Yamaki's idea to use the serum that Yamaki wouldn't help them. If that were the case, Takato would have come clean about everything. But Yamaki was their best shot at curing Ryo, and that trust had to be kept.

"Is he well enough to walk?" Jeri asked.

"No, he's not. Besides, there's still that virus out there. Renamon, Cyberdramon, I know we promised to help out here, but it looks like it's going to have to wait a little while longer."

Takato was proud of his lie, until he realized that Rika was seeing right through it.

"Jeri, can you sit with him incase he wakes up?" Rika asked, not breaking her eye contact with Takato. "I need to talk to Takato about something. Renamon, Cyberdramon, go with her."

_Damn it._

Takato sighed. He looked to Jeri, and he knew that she knew he was apologizing.

"What's going on?" She asked him.

"Huh?" was his immediate reply.

_Smooth._ He was really trying to buy some time to decide what to tell her.

"What you told us Mr. Wong said. That wasn't true, was it?"

"Yeah, it was."

"Takato."

_Damn._

"…no."

"Tell me what's going on." She repeated.

_I can't. I'm sorry._

"No." He said defiantly.

"What?" She snapped at him.

"I can't." he said, glad to be as truthful as he could.

"Why not?"

He sighed. Neither said anything for a moment, as he decided just how exactly to word what he needed to tell her. "Rika, if I tell you everything—it'd be really dangerous. For you, for Jeri, for Ryo, for all of us. But please believe me when I say that I'm still your friend. I can't say what this creature is, and I have no idea what it is capable of. But I will say that _you_ need to stay away from it, and the threat it makes goes beyond itself. If we can't stop it, it is going to make the D-Reaper look like child's play."

Rika said nothing, but still stared at him.

"Rika, you know I'd never do anything to hurt you."

_Please._

"_Yeah, I do._" Rika thought carefully. It took her several seconds to come up with the words to express what she wanted to say. "Takato, I know you're a lot smarter than you're ever given credit for, and nobody appreciates that as much as me, but you crossed a line.

"I know."

He felt terrible. And it didn't help when he noticed the glistening in Rika's eyes as they started to water.

"Who were you really on the phone with?"

"Not Janyu Wong."

"Is Ryo going to be okay?"

"I hope so."

"How can you be doing this?" she suddenly demanded. This took Takato aback, though he certainly didn't doubt he deserved it. "I swear to God if anything happens to him—"

"I didn't _do_ anything to him, and I promise you that I'm doing everything I can to help him. He's my friend too." In any other time he'd have said that with a much colder tone to it, but he couldn't blame Rika for her accusation.

"I know he's important to you, Rika. I know about you guys."

Rika looked at him.

"Who told you?"

"Kinda figured it out myself." Takato paused for a minute, as he realized that someone else knew. Rika'd told someone. "Jeri knew?"

"I asked her not to tell anyone. I'm sorry."

She's_ apologizing to _you?

"Takato, when this is over, you and I are going to have a talk."

"Counting on it."

"What's our next move?"

"We sit tight. Focus on Ryo. He's the priority. That _thing_ is second."

"And what's our best shot at making it through this?"

"We hide." He replied, certainly not to Rika's surprise. Conventional attacks don't do anything to that thing. We think our best shot is something chemical. We think we have something that might work, but nothing I tried has."

Suddenly, he heard a scream from the cave, and Rika apparently heard it too.

"Jeri!" He called as he charged in. He had just entered the mouth of it when a flying black digimon charged out and knocked him down.

"Jeri! Renamon!" He heard Rika call. Renamon and Cyberdramon stumbled out of the cave, apparently injured.

"Rika!" Takato called in unison with Renamon. Rika reached for her Digivice, and Renamon was soon Taomon. The Devimon was dealt with quickly, and Takato was back on his feet, running into the cave, Rika right behind him. He found Jeri at the back, weeping.

"Jeri, what happened, are you okay?" he asked frantically as he wrapped his arms around her.

"A gate, it—it opened up underneath Ryo…he fell in, then that thing came out—I'm so sorry, I couldn't stop it, I—" Takato suddenly let her go, grabbed his phone from his pocket, and hit the speed dial to Yamaki.

"He's gone. We need a way out _now_." He said firmly.

"I'll have you out in one minute." He replied before hanging up.

"What's going on?" Takato heard Henry called from outside.

"Everybody outside, fast." Takato ordered. He helped Jeri to her feet, and began helping her outside.

"What the hell is going on?" Rika demanded. Takato sure didn't blame her for having questions, but this was something he didn't have the answers to hide.

Everyone was outside, and the timing was fortunate. The portal opened up, right outside the cave.

"Everybody, hurry." Takato called.

The digimon all entered first, then Kazu, followed by Henry, Kenta, and after a meanful look, Jeri. It was just him and Rika left.

"Rika, get in. Please."

"You first."

_Fair enough._

He nodded, and stepped in.

He then found himself in Guilmon's house, which seemed more appropriate now that Guilmon was now in there, as well.

"Everyone here?" He called. There were affirmations. Before he could tell them they all had to go to Yamaki, there was a thump on the roof that Takato—that everyone recognized as the monster.

_Oh God._

"Everyone, get ready to run. I'll try to draw it off." He looked to Jeri. "Stay with Rika." And he was off. He wasn't sure what exactly he was doing, but he knew he had to do it. He regretted it, though, as he knew that if he died, he wouldn't have had a proper goodbye with Jeri.

_All the more reason to _not_ die._

He ran as fast as he could, and he could tell from the crashing behind him that Dr. Nonaka was right behind him. He couldn't bring himself to look back. He knew that Dr. Nonaka was moving much faster than the last time. But Takato was still able to outrun him, but barely.

He ran through the trees, taking the narrowest paths he could, slipping and weaving the trees, hoping it would slow the monster down. He soon arrived in a grassy clearing, and about halfway through, he felt a blunt blow to the back of his head and fell forward before the darkness of the night was enveloped by something darker.

--

Well, I hope you liked that one. I know there was a lot of repeat dialogue, but I promise there won't be too much of it in the future. Sorry it took me so long to update. Please review, it's really motivating for me.

'Til the next one,

-N


	7. Atlas Shrugged

Sorry its been so long, but I wrote this to go along with Crescendo's chapter 10. Enjoy, and please review!

-N

--

Reviewers (AKA, My Favorite People):

**Fluffeh the Great:** Happy to hear your power's back up. I was scared you didn't read/like Chapter 5. :D Glad you're back!

**John on 'da John:** Mine too. Thanks for the review!

**BloodyKitsune:** Thanks! It's going well, just lots and lots of reading. About non-fiction related things. Can you _believe _that?

**The-3-Amigos:** Glad you liked it! It's looking like Rika and Takato won't have very large appearances in each other's stories for now, but that Ryo should be in both. It sort of makes sense. I'm very tired, though. Anyways, hope you like this chapter!

**iamkagomeiloveinuyasha:** Updaaaaaated! Thanks for the nice reviews, I enjoyed them :p

--

I count him braver who overcomes his desires

than him who conquers his enemies;

for the hardest victory is over self.

……….Aristotle

--

When Jeri accidentally squeezed Takato's hand, she regretted it. She always did—it always felt like he was squeezing hers back. She sighed. It had been two days since they found Takato and the monster in the park. He'd been unconscious, and the monster had been standing over him. Her eyes watered whenever she thought about it—thought about what might have happened if they were even a few seconds later. She tried not to think about it, but she just couldn't help it. Everyone had been on-edge for the last two days. Jeri herself had spent the time next to Takato. Henry, Kazu, and Kenta stopped by frequently to check on Takato; they'd been spending most of their time keeping their partners busy so they wouldn't worry about Takato or Ryo.

Guilmon was sleeping in a small bed near Takato—he'd wake up quite excitedly every fifteen minutes—give or take a few—sniff Takato, poke him in the arm, then go back to sleep, disappointed. He'd spent the entire time in the room, as Jeri had, and she felt horrible for him. Cyberdramon hadn't said anything since they got to the Hypnos building. Jeri usually didn't feel like she could understand very closely what people were going through, but she was certain she felt the same worry for Takato as Cyberdramon was for Ryo. Mr. Yamaki said much to anyone since they arrived, which bothered Jeri; but it had been Rika who was even more offended than she was.

Rika had a confrontation with Takato back in the digital world. Jeri had heard it from the cave before the Devimon attacked. It helped piece things together from what she already knew from what Takato told her, and what she overheard from his conversation with Rika. Jeri assumed Rika had figured out Rika knew it was Yamaki who had been keeping Takato ahead of everyone. She was probably been waiting for an explanation. Jeri sighed as she thought of Rika. Rika had left a few hours ago, and nobody had heard from her. The night before, there had been another appearance of the monster, and Rika had gone off to fight it. When she came back, she checked on Takato, which is the last time Jeri had seen her. Rika had said she was going out for a while—Jeri had thought she meant she was going for a walk, not that she was leaving. Renamon was gone, too, of course. Jeri wished Rika had left at least a note or something—she was very concerned for her friend, and she certainly didn't enjoy the added guilt.

The only other visitor Takato had other than Mr. Yamaki, the doctors, and the other Tamers was a man who introduced himself to Jeri as being named Kurogawa. Kurogawa was someone who worked in the Hypnos building, and stopped by frequently to see if Takato had woken up yet, or if there were any other changes in his condition. Jeri was confused as to where his concern came from, but appreciated the company nonetheless.

Mr. Yamaki's doctors had said Takato would be fine. But that was two days ago, and he hadn't woken up yet. She, on the other hand, hadn't slept since Takato was moved to the room. Deciding she needed to sleep, she lay her head down on his hand, and sighed when she accidentally squeezed it, leading to the same reaction that she got an uncountable number of times in the last two days.

_Wait a second—_

She lifted her head nervously, and saw that Takato's eyes were partly open, and he was smiling at her.

--

Takato would have expected to be more refreshed after being asleep for two days. He had been filled in on everything that had happened—Ryo still hadn't been found, Rika had apparently run away, the monster had attacked again, and they were running out of time. The latter piece of information was disclosed to him by Yamaki, while the other Tamers had told him the formers. Takato had woken up a few hours ago, to find Jeri keeping him company. He definitely didn't mind that. When he got out of his bed, he went over to shake Guilmon gently to wake him up. As it turned out, Guilmon required more than a little shake to be roused from his sleep. Guilmon was happy to have his friend awake again.

Cyberdramon was the only one Takato hadn't been able to talk to—it wasn't like Cyberdramon was the greatest conversationalist to begin with, but when he wouldn't say anything to Takato, Takato just told him that he was going to find a way to get Ryo back. Presently, Takato was on his way to speak with Yamaki. Takato expected this to mean that Guilmon was to be left downstairs, but he was beyond caring—he slid the card he was given through the reader, and headed into the elevator once it opened. He stepped in, and pushed the number "16".

Takato inhaled slowly as the elevator started moving. He wasn't sure what he was going to be told. Takato dreaded the meeting—Yamaki was always ahead of everyone else, so Takato was scared to hear something about Rika or Ryo that he wasn't ready to hear. He knew that Yamaki was ready to tell everyone about their investigation into the monster, as the situation had become too risky not to. What Takato didn't know, though, was just how much they were going to tell everyone. Some of the secrets Takato didn't want the others to know—that the monster was really Dr. Nonaka, and that Ryo was infected with the same virus.

Takato silently decided that the worst part about being knocked out by a monster and being put into a coma was that he lost two days he could have spent trying to find a way to help Ryo.

The door opened, and Guilmon and Takato stepped to Yamaki's office. Yamaki turned and headed towards them, ignoring Guilmon's presence. Takato was almost glad, as it would save time, and Yamaki could get to whatever it was that was making Takato so uncomfortable.

"So, how much do you want to tell the others? I stalled them as long as I could while you were out." Yamaki asked.

Even though Takato was expecting it, he was still surprised.

"I don't want anyone knowing about Dr. Nonaka." Takato replied firmly.

"Fair enough."

"Or Ryo."

"So if he mutates fully, you'll keep his identity a secret?"

"He won't."

"Entertain the possibility."

_I don't want to._

"I will."

"Good. Now how much are you comfortable telling everyone about your own involvement?"

Takato hadn't thought about that. He had no idea how they might react. "Give me an hour, and then we'll tell them." Takato wanted the hour so that he could tell Henry himself. He owed him that much. Henry's dad was doing well. He was still hospitalized, but there was no permanent damage.

"Alright. Now, I'm sure you've been told there's been another appearance of the monster." Yamaki asked, business-like as ever.

"Yeah. Over on Ross Street, right? They said a lot of people got killed."

"I know. Rika saw it, and it could have affected her mental state."

"What?"

"She was uneasy when she came back. I know she's seen battle before, but she clearly saw something different there. And now she's left, and we can't find her."

"Do you think she's alright?"

"I have no idea. For all we know, Valn could have her."

"So what do we do?"

"We've got a few possible locations of Valn's base of operation, or at least, where he keeps Dr. Nonaka. Nothing certain, but some decent leads based on the times a sighting has been reported, where he's been moving, and how long between. I've some men prepped to go—"

"We'll go." Takato said, indicating Guilmon, who was sniffing a potted plant, ignoring the conversation fully.

"Alright." Yamaki responded. A year or so ago Yamaki wouldn't have trusted him to do something like this.

With his meeting with Yamaki finished, he headed not to the elevator, but to the stairwell in search of Henry. He figured taking the stairs would give him more time to think of what he'd say to him. Upon leaving the room, though, he bumped into a tall, slim man. Takato noticed the word "SECURITY" on the man's shirt.

"Oh, sorry." Takato mumbled.

"Hey, you're Takato, right?" the man asked.

Takato looked at the man in confusion. "Yeah, who are you?"

"My name's Kurogawa. I met a friend of yours, Jeri? It's good to see you're up and about." He looked to Guilmon, "And it's good to see you again, too, Guilmon." He scratched the side of Guilmon's head, making him laugh a little bit, which forced a little smile out of Takato.

Takato remembered Jeri mention the man, saying he was one of Takato's visitors. Takato was a little uncomfortable at the thought, and was eager to get out of the stairwell.

"Thanks," Takato said hurriedly. "I've got some things to do, but it was nice meeting you." With a quick smile and a wave, Takato hurried down the stairs.

He found him reading a book on the second floor, with Terriormon nearby watching some TV. Henry smiled at him as he approached, and closed his book.

"Hey Takato, what's up?"

"Hey, Henry. Uh, I was hoping I could talk to you."

"Sure thing, everything alright?"

Takato ignored the last question, and indicated for Guilmon to sit with Terriormon, which he complied to. He beckoned for Henry to follow as he walked down the hallway.

"Takato, what's wrong?"

_Tell him._

"Henry, I knew that your father was going to be attacked by the monster." He said quietly. He hadn't looked at Henry while he said this, but when he didn't get a response, he looked up to see pure confusion on Henry's face. He had to continue, though. "We knew that your father was going to be attacked, and we let it happen so that we could follow the monster. I invited you to see a movie so that you'd be busy when it happened."

"W-What? Why?" Henry asked, the look of confusion still present.

"It was the only way to find out where the monster was. I'm sorry, Henry."

What Takato saw on Henry's face then was not confusion, but betrayal. They stared at each other for some time before Henry took a few steps backward—still staring at Takato—and turned and walked away. Takato wanted to follow, but knew Henry didn't want him to, so he didn't. As much as he hated it, he would have to leave it at that for the time being. He sighed, suppressed his guilt, and went to find the others to let them know of the meeting in Yamaki's office.

He found Kazu and Kenta watching—surprisingly—a news report on the 'strange occurrences' in the city for the past several weeks. Currently, a theorist was being interviewed who blamed the events on alien life. His thoughts were cut short, and the next theorist attributed the events to divine intervention. Takato sighed.

_As if the alien guy is closer._

He told them to come up to Yamaki's office for the meeting at 8:00. They agreed to, and chatted for a bit. Takato hadn't gotten much chance to spend time with either of the two in longer than he'd like, and he made a mental promise to talk to them more. He headed downstairs in search of Jeri. He found her making beds on the basement level.

"Hey, Takato." She said, looking up.

"What are you doing?"

"A lot of people got hurt the other night. I'm guessing some people are going to be needing these beds. I thought I'd get them ready. The doctors told me that it was a good idea."

Takato smiled at her, though she wasn't looking up to notice it. He was so proud of how strong of a person she was becoming—how strong she already was. He wanted to spend more time with her, but realized he had another stop to make. He told her of the meeting at 8:00, and headed upstairs.

It took him a while before he found Cyberdramon. He was sitting—perching, rather, half out a window on the 3rd floor. Takato sat down next to him.

"Hey, Cyberdramon."

Takato wasn't expecting a response, which was good, because he didn't get one. He simply sat with Ryo's partner a few moments before he spoke again.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to do everything I can to find Ryo and to bring him back." Again, no response. Takato smiled weakly.

"You know, before all of this, Ryo would always tell me all of the stuff he wanted to show you when you came back. He had no doubt that you would, either. He just knew, you know? I just—it's just that this isn't the way any of us expected it to be. He wanted to show you all sorts of stuff—movies, sports, music—he had this weird notion you'd be a big country fan. You'll understand why that's such an appalling thought when he gets back and you find out what country music is. Ryo's—he gets ahead of himself, you know that. Don't tell him, but I've always looked up to him. He gets in over his head in so many things, but then he always knows how to deal with it. I wish I could do that." Takato paused a moment. "You know, back in the digital world, thanks for looking out for Jeri. I appreciate it."

Takato stood up, hoping that Cyberdramon was at least listening to what he was saying.

"We're meeting in Yamaki's office on the sixteenth floor at 4:00. We're hoping we have a plan to find Ryo. Please come."

Takato had fifteen minutes, but he hadn't anything better to do, so he headed to Yamaki's office early. When he got up there, he still had 10 minutes before 4, but Yamaki was there at his desk. Takato entered, and headed toward him. He was prepared to greet Yamaki when the door burst open behind him, causing him to spin around, and Yamaki to stand up in anger.

Takato saw Kurogawa, the man he'd met in the stairwell, but this time, he shoved Takato violently backwards into Yamaki's desk. Yamaki stormed towards the security guard, but stopped still when Kurogawa pulled a pistol, moving it between Takato and Yamaki.

"What the hell are you people doing?" Kurogawa almost screamed.

_What are _we_ doing?_

"Just calm down." Yamaki said.

"Shut up! I know you people made that thing."

"No, we didn't. We're trying to stop it, Mr. Kurogawa." Yamaki said very slowly.

"I _know_ you did! Don't you dare lie to me!" the security guard screamed, shaking the gun accusingly at Yamaki.

Takato had been in life-or-death situations before, but it was somehow very different then, when the person controlling his fate was a person, rather than a monster. Takato didn't dare move—he had no idea how to behave in this kind of situation. Takato was busy piecing together things—Kurogawa must have been waiting for Takato to wake up so he could listen in on Yamaki talking to him, since Yamaki wasn't speaking to anyone until Takato was there.

"Just put the gun down."

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"You're going to hurt someone."

"You deserve it!"

"What do you want?"

"I want the weapon you used to knock that thing out before!"

"It won't work anymore—that was strictly a one-shot chance we took—it was a chemical; even though it worked before, the monster has surely developed a resistance to it now."

"Just give it to me!"

"It won't do you any—" Yamaki started, stepping forward, in front of Takato.

"Stay the hell back!"

"What's going—" Takato heard a voice speak that he did not want present. Takato saw the door open from the elevator open; Kurogawa's response to this was a bullet pointed in that direction—

—and Yamaki charged forward, and tackled Kurogawa to the ground

—and Jeri stumbled backwards into the elevator, looking down at the hole that just appeared in her shirt, that was starting to turn red.

--

Okay, I hope it was entertaining enough to read 'til here. Review, please!

-N


	8. Fleeting Hope

Hey, look! We're almost done! Anyone (I know there hasn't been many) who's read this far, I want you to know that I really appreciate it.

I hope you enjoy, and please review.

-N

_--_

"You're okay now, right?."

—Advent Children

_--_

_Oh God—_

"Wha—" Jeri murmured weakly but quite audibly in the now silent room as she stared at the sudden mark in her gut.

"Jeri!" Takato shouted as he ran to his longtime friend. The impact of the bullet had knocked her backwards, causing her back to hit the hand-rest bar in the elevator, as well as her feet to stumble. Takato watched as she instinctively grabbed the bar, letting herself to the floor as carefully as she could. It apparently wasn't enough, however, but Takato reached her before she could fall completely. Takato had never been so scared in his entire life as he was then. She stared not at him, but past him, breathing heavily.

"Get medical—somebody get the doctors _now!_" he heard Yamaki yell from behind him. A near-instantaneous look behind him provided Takato with the information that Yamaki had knocked Kurogawa unconscious, and it was Yamaki who now held the gun. He also noticed some of the others—among them Cyberdramon—coming up the stairwell. Takato felt the elevator door press gently on his foot before its safety mechanisms forced it open again.

"Why did he—" she whispered, still not looking at Takato.

"Jeri? Jeri, please, come on baby—" Takato had tears streaming down his face as he looked to the wound in her stomach, a small but messy red hole. He cradled her head in his left hand, and he had pulled his sleeve over his hand and applied pressure to her stomach. He breathed heavier as he felt her blood seep through the thin fabric and onto his hand.

"Jeri!" Takato recognized the voice belong to Henry, who ran to her and Takato, kneeling on the side opposite Takato.

"What happened?" Takato heard Kazu ask Yamaki frantically. Takato wasn't paying attention to what Yamaki gave as a response, he was too busy trying to get Jeri's attention.

_You've always wanted her attention. You've always _had _her attention._

But not now. She was still alive, and still breathing, but she stared up vacantly, at the space between Takato and Henry's heads, her lips trembling as she struggled to speak.

"Everybody's so loud—" Jeri murmured tiredly. She spoke as if she was half-asleep, and Takato realized that she was no longer aware what had just happened, and probably unaware of what was presently happening.

"Jeri, you gotta stay with me here—" Takato tried to whisper, leaning closer to her, but as he cried it came out louder than he wanted to.

"You mean like a date?" she whispered with a small smile, still not looking at anyone. Takato felt her hand reach behind her head and place it on his own hand. It was still warm.

Takato felt his eyes well up again before he squeezed them shut instinctively, forcing the tears down his face. He couldn't lose Jeri, not then, not ever.

"Yeah, Jeri—like a date—like anything, just stay here, please, just—" He spoke quickly and desperately, and was certain that nothing he said was audible to even Henry, who was right next to him.

What Takato felt next was someone pushing him out of the way. He angrily shot a glare at the person who had done it, but felt relief when he recognized the man as one of the doctors Yamaki had called for. Takato and Henry both moved to get out of his way, backing up to the opposite corners of the elevator. Takato still had his hand behind Jeri's head, gently squeezing her hand. Takato saw another doctor push his way through the people who stood outside that were too terrified to come in.

Takato shot a glance toward Henry, and Henry was already looking at him. Henry was wearing the same expression of terror and anxiety that Takato was, but the two said nothing, and both turned back to Jeri.

The two doctors worked on her there in the elevator, speaking with each other in medical jargon that might as well have been pure gibberish to Takato. It was a full two minutes there before the requested they move her back to the medical floor. Takato hit "B1" on the elevator instantly. As the door closed, he saw everyone take flight to the stairs.

When Jeri had been moved into a room of tools and medical supplies, Takato and Henry were both asked to leave. He was reluctant to, but he knew he had to, and he complied.

_This is really happening._

He stared through the window into the operating room with Henry as Kazu and Kenta, their partners, Guilmon, Cyberdramon, Terriermon, and Mr. Yamaki approached. He saw this out of his peripheral vision; his eyes remained on Jeri. He felt something warm on his shoulder, and finally broke his gaze to see Henry looking at him sympathetically. Takato patted Henry's hand and turned back to the long window, gently placing his hand on it. The hallway was dark, but he recognized his hand wasn't its usual color , and knew the cause to be that it was covered in Jeri's blood. He lowered his hand and tried not to think about it has he breathed slowly and stared at Jeri while the doctors operated on her. He saw them inject her with something, he saw her hooked up to machines, and he saw them remove the bullet.

It seemed like a very long time before one of the doctors came out and said something which felt like the first thing Takato had heard all day:

"She's stabilized."

Takato let out a sigh of relief and actually managed to smile.

_That's my girl._

--

Takato sat at Jeri's bedside, holding her hand. The doctors said that she was going to be fine, but there was no estimation on when she might wake up. Guilmon sat with him, but neither spoke. Takato's other hand remained draped on Guilmon's shoulder, gently rubbing.

_This shouldn't have happened._

If anyone had to have been shot, Takato would have much rather had it be himself than Jeri. Kurogawa was locked up somewhere in the building, Takato didn't care. He didn't even care what Yamaki was doing to him; whatever he got was too good.

What Kurogawa had done was an accident, but it was unforgivable. Unforgivable to Takato, anyways. He was sure Jeri was capable of forgiving anyone for anything. What pushed Kurogawa to do what he did was that someone he cared about was killed by the monster. He thought Yamaki had made the monster himself. It could happen to someone else.

He couldn't let that happen. He gently lifted his hand away from Jeri's, and stood up. He patted Guilmon on the side of his face.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, boy. Look over her for me."

He quickly walked to the elevator and hit the number 16. He knew Yamaki wouldn't be in his office, as he was wherever Kurogawa was taken. He ran to Yamaki's desk and looked through the many papers to find what Yamaki had mentioned earlier—locations of where the monster was coming from. In search of them, he opened a briefcase that was also on the desk, that wasn't there when Takato was in a few hours ago. It must have been dropped off when Yamaki was out.. Inside was three vials of a bright green liquid, a needle to inject them, and some papers.

He quickly skimmed through the front page, but read through them more thoroughly when he saw the word '_antivirus'_ appear. Apparently this serum could be used to kill the monster; it could combat the virus after it has fully taken effect.

This is what they had been dreaming of. Yamaki had gotten ahold of a way to beat Valn's monster. He searched through Yamaki's desk for something to put the vials in. He found a few hard containers Yamaki had some spare glasses in, that were padded on the inside. He took two, leaving only one for Yamaki. He quickly grabbed two of the glasses containers and emptied their contents, one having a pair of regular glasses, the other having a pair of fancy sunglasses. He carefully placed a vial in each, and put them in his pockets. He made sure that the cap on the needle was secure, before he put that in his pocket as well. He closed the briefcase and put it under Yamaki's desk, where he wouldn't see it right away.

Takato resumed his search for the locations. He finally found them on a map printed on the back of one of the sheets. He quickly looked at them—he recognized one to be where he was confident Valn was. It was underneath the park, in the tunnels that Impmon used to occupy. He put the paper back on the desk, and headed to the stairs.

_It's time to finish this._

In that day, Takato had almost lost one of the most important people in his life. But he didn't. No way in hell was he going to lose one of the other ones. He had a weapon, and he had a location. It was time to save Ryo.

Takato was almost glad then to be in the position he was, to have the information he did. He finally felt like he had something he'd been missing for a very long time. Power. For the last several weeks he'd felt so helpless, but now he could make a stand. He had a cause. Valn was a threat to innocent people. Like Jeri. Like Ryo. It was a cause he thought important enough to fight for.

_Important enough to die for._

He stopped on the 15th floor, walked into an unused office, and took an envelope, a pen, and some stationary from the desk. He knew he could die fighting that thing—he knew he probably _would_ die. But if he did, he needed to let someone know what happened to him. He sat down and wrote the letter slowly and neatly. Takato didn't read it out loud; he never heard any of the things said over him earlier in the day when he himself was in a coma. Still, he found himself mouth the last line of the letter. He carefully folded the paper, and placed it in an envelope. He printed her name on it, and sealed it, and headed to the elevator back to the basement level.

When Takato entered the room, Guilmon was standing on a chair, leaning over the side of the bed, fast asleep. Takato was glad that Guilmon was asleep, it would make his leaving easier. He had no intention of bringing Guilmon along for this. He knew what he was about to do was dangerous, and he wouldn't risk Guilmon's life. Takato gently stroked his partner's face, and whispered a goodbye.

He inhaled deeply, holding the air for a few seconds before slowly letting it out. Takato looked at the girl who was always so full of life before that day—the girl he'd fallen for, the girl whose eyes he now couldn't even see.

"_Jeri, it's Takato. _

_I never got to tell you how happy I was to have you be there when I woke up. I wish I could be here for you when you wake up, but I can't, so I'm leaving this for you. _

_I want you to know that I'm gonna do what's right. But, I don't know if I'm going to make it back, though. I just needed to tell you how much you mean to me. You've been my best friend my whole life. If I could choose to be with any person of anyone in all of the world, I'd choose you._

_I know you're gonna wake up, Jeri, I know that you'll be able to read this. You take care of us. Of me. You always have. You're stronger than all of us put together. Please know that I'm doing what I am to make the world a better place. _

_I love you. I love you so much."_

He said nothing before he turned and left the room. Takato didn't know what he was about to face, but he wanted the last thing he saw before entering the darkness, to be her.

--

Aren't things getting fun? Review!

-N


	9. Weight of the World

**At-las: **Greek Mythology. A Titan condemned by Zeus to support the heavens upon his shoulders.

-Dictionary Definition

This is it: the finale of Atlas!

I really hope you enjoy it. If you haven't read Crescendo's Chapter 1, you really should go back now and do that, or a small part of it won't make much sense. If you have, you really might want to go read the second half again.

Anyways, thanks for everyone's support, this story was a lot of fun to write. This one is gonna have some spoilers for Crescendo's whatever-chapter-these-events'll-be, and will give you a pretty good idea how it'll end.

Remember to read the epilogue at the end! I'll try to add some notes in at the very end to clarify some things.

Review, if at all possible. Thanks!

--

_**Review Responses:**_

**The-3-Amigos:** I'm really glad you enjoyed that. I wanted to stick as much Jurato into that chapter as I could so that it could compensate for this one, which doesn't have any.

**John on 'da John:** I love cliffhangers. They're just so much fun.

**Xenos tiger:** Less than two weeks is so incredibly fast for me, if you were to average out my times updating stories (though please don't ;)

**Bluesv20: **Thanks! I'll let you know if I do anything new that you might be interested in reading.

--

Takato found the entrance to Valn's laboratory exactly where he had expected it to be. He knew the park was the location to look at, since the monster found them so quickly after they returned to the digital world. Valn may have even chosen his base of operations to be there since it was so close to the portal. As a base, it was both isolated and connected at the same time. The metal doors in the tunnel led to the city's sewer system, but Takato recognized one that wasn't there before.

He wasn't quite sure what his plan was. His priority was Ryo. Ryo still had half a week left before the virus would consume him. Unfortunately, the serum that Takato currently had in his pockets would kill Ryo if they were used on him. He would have to find Ryo, and with some luck, Ryo would be able to help Takato force Valn into telling them how to reverse the virus's effects and cure him. Until this point, Takato had thought the chances of his mission succeeding being a million-to-one. After considering all of this, he realized it would be closer to two-million-to-one, but his mind was made up, and he had to try.

Takato had made a stop by his house before coming. It wasn't even out of his way, and he wanted to see his parents one last time. He'd also packed his backpack with a few things that might help. A first-aid kit, a flashlight, a large knife from his mother's kitchen he'd wrapped in some cloth—anything he could think of in the few minutes he was at his house. He made the distinct effort not to bring his D-Arc—he didn't want any of the other Tamers following him.

He went to try the handle on the door, but soon realized it wasn't there, it had been torn through, and the door swung open at his push.

_Good thing this doesn't look like a trap_, he thought sarcastically. He peeked inside and saw that the lights were on, but saw nor heard no one. Nervous, he glanced back to the tunnels, looking down either side to make sure nobody was coming. He nearly jumped when he saw something dark red on the ground farther down the tunnel. Takato found a folded, dark green vest there. He took it and put it in his backpack, thinking he might be able to shred it to bandages if he needed to.

Out of reasons to use to convince himself not to enter, Takato pushed the door open again and crept inside. Just inside the door was a wide hallway that led down at an angle that wasn't too steep to move across, but would require attention to be sure. He noticed that the hallway actually had a door he had already walked through, it was a thick metal electric one that had already slid open. He headed down the hallway quickly, though not too quickly that he might make enough sound to alert Valn or Dr. Nonaka, either of whom might be anywhere. He realized that the door might have been open since Dr. Nonaka would be in no state to operate a doorknob.

The open electric doors stood out about a foot and a half on each side. Takato could press himself against the wall and hide behind one if he needed to, as long as he took the backpack off. The hall was very wide, likely so that Dr. Nonaka could move in and out of it as Valn directed him to.

Minutes later, at the bottom of the hallway was another door, this one also electrical. It led to a maze of other hallways. Valn had built an entire complex underneath the city. Takato had no idea how far exactly they went—but it was all entirely underground.

_How could someone even build all this with no one knowing?_

Takato pushed the thought aside, and looked around. There were more hallways, each the same width and height as the one he had just exited, only these ones did not descend any farther downward. One was to his left, one straight ahead, and one to the right. Each had several doors on either side.

_Shit._

He had no idea where to begin. He couldn't exactly start calling out Ryo's name, and he had no idea who else was in this place besides Ryo and Valn. Throwing caution to the wind, he turned right and moved on. It was surprisingly cold, and Takato was only wearing a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved white t-shirt, so Takato slipped on the vest he'd found outside. It was padded and looked warm when he took it. He thanked himself for his apparently kleptomania. He stopped at the first door on the right and looked in the small square window. It was an office: desk, chair, computer, hell—even a potted plant. Still looking through the window, Takato reached for the handle and saw there was none. He continued down the hall, and saw the same in the dozens of windows of the dozens of doors. At the end of the hall were two buttons, one of which was pushed in. There was a hard plastic case on the floor, which Takato assumed was removed from this. He looked closely, and saw the words "LOCK" and "UNLOCK" printed in a small font on each. The "LOCK" button was pressed in. Takato pushed the UNLOCK one, which forced the "LOCK" button out, and causing a series of clicks throughout the hall.

Takato quickly headed into the closest office to him, but as soon as he stepped in, before he could grimace at the terrible smell of the room, he fell forward, hitting his head hard on the floor as he tripped over something. He shot a glance back, half of fear, half of frustration, and saw that he had tripped over an arm. He pulled away from it instinctively, and forced himself to look at the decaying human body that was on the floor, next to the now-open door.

The body was thin but tall, his face thankfully facing out into the hall, and not at Takato. Takato pulled his eyes away from him, trying to find something else in the office that might help him find Ryo, but he still glanced towards the body. He hadn't realized just how much he had been backing up from it until his back hit the chair at the desk. Takato forced himself to stand, and turned his attention away from the body, and to the materials on the desk. He noticed that there was no computer on the desk, that it had fallen off the back, the monitor severely cracked. He glanced at some of the papers on the desk. He picked up one of the ones on top. It was a piece of stationary, at the top of which read, "From the Desk of Carl Semp"

"_It's been five days since Dr. Valn locked us in, something about a containment breach; that this was for our own safety. Bullshit. He got what he wanted—we used the DWPG to bring in what he needed. They built him this facility, then he killed them, and now he's killing us. _

_We probably deserve it for ever following him, but not like this. There's over three hundred scientists in this complex, and he's just going to let us all waste away. It's getting harder to think, harder to breathe. I've been rationing the bottles of water I had in my office but it's not going to be enough. He doesn't want survivors._

_He cut off our communications—phone, internet—we can't get any word out. Even talking with others on the floor is difficult. I can hear Julie in the office to the right if we both scream as loud as we can, but nothing distinct. Adam across the hall I've been writing messages with and holding them against the window, but it doesn't work very well._

_God damn Valn. I wish the generator would blow this entire place to Hell, where the sick bastard belongs._

_If anyone gets this, tell Stacy I love her, and to make sure Jon grows up right._

Takato dropped the paper on the desk, feeling even sicker than he had before reading it. Valn had killed all of these people. There were more than three hundred dead bodies surrounding Takato at that time. He looked around the desk some more, and found a key card, with Carl's picture on it. Takato hoped that it might still work—if Valn knew all of these people were locked inside where they couldn't get out, he might have left their keys activated. Takato stuffed the card into his pocket.

Takato left the room and continued down the hall, stopping in the next office. Stacy too had left several notes, less descriptive in what happened to them than Carl's, speaking more about her family and herself. The next two offices had the same, and Takato knew that Valn had to pay for what he did to these people. He headed down the hall determinedly, never letting his eyes stray to either side. When he got back to the main intersection that was where he arrived, he turned right, this time moving down the hallway that was at first, the one that led straight ahead.

He still did not look in the offices at each side, but stopped when out of his peripheral vision he saw someone dressed in black, but moving. Takato had been moving quietly, and the person did not see him. Takato realized from the form and the hair that it was Rika. She'd tracked down Valn's lab, and was intently snooping as he was. Takato realized then that the torn off doorknob at the front door was probably the work of Renamon. But Renamon wasn't with Rika now. She probably had ordered her partner away, much as Takato would have done if Guilmon had helped him get inside.

Takato had trouble explaining why, but didn't want her knowing that he was there. If something were to happen to him, he didn't want her to come looking for him and get caught in a trap. He quickly headed down the hallway, careful not to make any sounds. He ducked into a nearby office, and grabbed a piece of paper, and a pen.

He reached into his backpack and pulled out one of the two cases containing a serum. On the paper, he wrote, "ANTIVIRUS" in large block letters so she wouldn't be able to identify the author of, and on the back wrote that it would kill someone fully infected and mutated. He slipped the paper into the bright green case with the serum, and headed back out into the hall. Rika was still fortunately not in the hall as well, and he left the case, the note, and the serum in the middle of the floor, and hurried down the hall and around the corner, taking care not to make any sounds, all the while praying that she finds it and understands it.

Around the corner was another intersection, another three halls, but this time one of them led downwards again. Takato ran down that one, eager to keep some distance between him and Rika.

Takato slowed down when he reached the next floor. Again, this hallway had several doors windows on either side. Takato let himself glance to the room on his left, and peered inside, finding that the room was not an office, as above, but almost like a cell. An office-sized cell, granted, but there was nothing in it except a small, unpadded, backless bench against the wall.

Takato nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a pounding sound right behind him. He spun around—

—and saw Ryo hitting the window of the door he hadn't yet looked at, trying to get his attention.

_I'm not too late._

Takato let out a smile of relief. He ran to the door, which wouldn't open from the outside, either. Takato noticed the doors on this floor weren't electronic, but required keys.

"Damn it," Takato muttered. He tried the handle again without even realizing it, shaking it as he desperately tried to think of a plan. He looked through the window again at Ryo, who was trying to say something, but Takato couldn't hear a word of it.

Takato indicated Ryo that he was going to look around but that he'd be back, which Ryo seemed to understand. Takato continued down the hall, looking in each room for something that he wasn't even sure where to look for. He looked in every room he came past, and even went down another level, but found nothing but empty rooms.

Eventually he came to a large, near-circular room lined with computers, screens, and desks. Working at one was a man who takato had no doubt was Dr. Alexander Valn. Takato ducked down and pulled the knife out of his bag.

_Not gonna get more than one shot at this._

Takato moved low, as quietly as he possibly could as he snuck up behind the man. Takato waited until he was almost touching Valn's chair before he popped up and held the knife against the man's neck.

"Tell me how to cure the virus." Takato said, still pulling the blade firmly towards him, thus against Valn's neck.

"Which one?" Valn asked smugly. Takato rewarded this by pulling harder.

"You've got a friend of mine locked up upstairs. I want him cured, and I want him let out. Make it happen, or I'll spill more than you can spare." Takato'd never hurt a human being before, but he was prepared to if it meant he could protect a great many more who were far better than this one.

"I repeat; which one?" Valn sounded a little annoyed this time, but certainly not scared.

"Ryo Akiyama."

"Oh, so you must be Mr. Matsuda." Valn said in an interested tone. Takato could tell Valn was smiling, and he couldn't even see his face.

"Give me the cure."

"Mr. Akiyama has already _been_ cured." Valn said very seriously. "I've moved on to better things."

_What?_

"What are you talking about?

"Human bodies can't contain the virus for long periods of time without expiring." Valn explained condescendingly. "At least not unless they were prepped beforehand for it. I'm sure you've met my colleague, Dr. Nonaka? I had to prepare him weeks before I infected him. Your friend's body didn't have this preparation, so I made a new vessel for the virus. Mr. Akiyama no longer infected."

Takato thought this was too good to be true, but was still allowing himself to believe it.

"What is this place?"

"I live here, you moron." Valn said coldly.

Takato pulled the knife tighter, feeling some blood trickle over his fingers.

"Those people upstairs. You killed them." Takato stated.

"No, most of them starved to death." Valn rebutted.

_He's out of his mind._

"Because of you." Takato said, angrier.

"They were standing in the way."

"Of what?"

"A better world, Mr. Matsuda."

"I want some straight answers from you right now, and if I don't like what I hear, you're going to know it, _fast_."

"You've seen for yourself what the virus is capable of."

"It made Dr. Nonaka a monster."

"It saved your friend's life."

Takato knew it was true. If Ryo hadn't gotten infected, he might not have healed as he did.

_If Valn hadn't had Ryo attacked, Ryo wouldn't have needed treatment in the first place._

"So you're having Dr. Nonaka kill people to make the world a better place?"

"Only the ones in my way. When I finish my work, the world will be a better place. There will be no wars, no sickness. I can make the world the way it should be." The tone that Valn had been using which bothered Takato so much had been replaced by a passion for something Takato considered to be totally insane.

"You'll never develop it that far." Takato said quietly.

"I will."

Takato had had enough.

"Shut this place down. Now."

"Make me."

When Takato pulled the knife again, he felt a sharp pain in his own leg—Valn had stabbed him. Takato's grip on the knife loosened, and he stumbled back, in pain and surprise. Before he could do anything, Valn was up, and pissed.

"You're just like Yamaki." Valn said, angrily. "Trying to cut up scientific development before it gets the chance to shine. I won't let you do that to me."

Takato brandished the knife and moved forward, but stopped when Valn pulled out a handgun and aimed it at Takato's head.

"How about you drop that before somebody gets hurt?" Valn said grimly, pressing his left hand against his neck, which was bleeding, but not much.

_Shit._

Takato didn't really have any choices, so he did as the man asked, and the knife fell to the floor, as did most of Takato's hope.

He took this opportunity to inspect the wound in his leg. It was wide, but not very deep. It hurt like hell though, and blood was dripping down his right leg.

Takato and Valn stared at each other even as Valn pressed some keys on the computer he was operating, and Takato heard the whirring and hissing of the mechanical doors throughout the building closing and locking.

_That's going to make getting out a bitch._

"Let's go visit your friend." Valn sneered, as he reached into his desk and grabbed a small black object which he stuffed into his pocket. He then picked up the knife Takato had dropped, which was still stained with Valn's own blood.

Takato said nothing as Valn escorted him back to Ryo's room. Takato said nothing, but continued to walk ahead, knowing full well that Valn had a gun pointed at the back of his head. His leg hurt, but not enough to actually slow him down.

When they arrived there, Valn ordered Ryo to the back of the room after threatening Takato in front of him, then he unlocked the door, grabbed the top of Takato's backpack, and kicked Takato in, while pulling the backpack outside. Takato then saw the black object roll in front of him, and a digital timer of 5 minutes appear on it.

"What the hell is that?" Ryo asked Valn angrily.

"It's going to release a gas when the timer runs out. And let me tell you, it won't be fun for you when it does. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some pets to check on." Valn tossed the knife inside before he closed the door and locked it. "You'll both want that."

Takato and Ryo shared a disturbed look and an awkward silence as they both wanted to think up plans.

Takato sat up, took off his belt, and wrapped it around his leg to slow the bleeding.

"Bad day?" Ryo asked casually.

"Little bit. You?"

"Not great." Ryo said, indicating the bruises on his neck.

"What did that?" Takato asked.

"Uh, me." Ryo mumbled, forcing Takato raised an eyebrow. "Valn made a double of me. Took it out of me, put it in the double. Then I went to swing at Valn and the other me freaked out and kicked the crap out of me. I really wouldn't recommend doing it."

Takato stood up and tried the handle, knowing full well it wouldn't open. He needed a key, and he sure as hell didn't have it.

"So what are you doing here?" Ryo asked suddenly.

Takato looked at the timer.

_4:10_.

"Came to rescue you. Didn't turn out so great, I'm afraid."

"My hero," Ryo said sarcastically. "Any ideas?"

"Well, maybe we'll freeze to death before that thing goes off?" Takato said hopefully.

"At least your girly coat'll keep you warm." Ryo snickered.

"Huh?" Takato took off the vest he'd found and looked at the back, and was surprised to see the red outline of a heart.

"Wow." Takato laughed. "That'll teach me to wear things I find in the tunnels.

Ryo joined in. "Yeah, Rika has one like it."

_Rika_.

Takato stopped laughing. "Rika's upstairs." Takato suddenly said as he remembered.

"What?" Ryo said, concerned.

"She must have come here looking for you. She doesn't know I'm here, though, I stayed hidden, I didn't want her to be, you know, waiting to be gassed.

"Appreciate it." Ryo said casually, looking at the clock. "3:20"

"Just our luck, huh?" Takato said, tossing the vest aside.

Ryo's eyes suddenly widened as he stared at the vest.

"Luck. Rika." Ryo whispered, before he _dove_ at the jacket frantically, rummaging through it quickly.

"What are you doing?" Takato asked, concerned.

Ryo didn't answer, though, and began literally tearing the insides of the vest out. Takato guided his eyes from the piles of cotton on the floor to his apparently insane friend. This continued until Ryo burst into a fit of laughter and presented a small flat box.

"What is that?"

"Something Rika carried around for good luck." Ryo quickly explained, opening it and unrolling what Takato recognized as a set of lockpicks. His eyes widened.

_Rika, I could kiss you right now._

"Do you know how to use them?" Takato asked hopefully.

"Let's find out."

Ryo hurried to the door, and slowly inserted two of the metal devices in the lock. Takato looked anxiously between Ryo and the grenade, the timer of which was at 2:40.

_Come on, Ryo._

Ryo was taking his time; Takato wished he'd try to go a little faster, but also knew that this wasn't something he could rush. He looked back to the clock, the timer just over 2:05

_Comeoncomeoncomeoncomeon—_

Takato heard the happiest sound in his entire life—the click of the door unlocking. Ryo opened the door quickly, stuffing the picks into his pocket.

"Rika's upstairs, go find her." Takato said. "I'm gonna go find Valn."

Ryo smirked at this.

"Good luck, be careful." Ryo told him.

"Always am." Takato replied. The two took off in opposite directions—Ryo upstairs, and Takato back downstairs towards the room where he confronted Valn. There was still 1:40 left on the counter, but Takato didn't have to tread lightly anymore. He ran as fast as he could, hoping that—unlike in the park—it would be fast enough. The pain in his leg was dulled by the adrenaline surging through him.

He arrived at the control room with a minute left to spare, and soon found Valn in a room directly below it. Takato chose then to move quieter, so that Valn would not be alerted to his presence. Takato looked around the room and found a sturdy-looking chair. He threw the grenade as hard as he could at the back of Valn's head, slammed the door shut, and barred the door with the chair.

Takato waited for the minute to pass. There was only one exit from the room Valn was in, and Takato had it blocked. Still, he needed to be sure that Valn would be around when the gas went off.

Takato stared through the window, seeing the pure panic in Valn's eyes. Takato had no illusions about what he was doing, unlike Valn. Takato _knew_ he was responsible for what would happen to Valn. The doctor had put people in a position that they'd die, and then convinced himself that it wasn't his fault. Takato wouldn't be like that. Not ever.

When the white gas started to come out, Valn began to cough, a lot. His skin started to turn red, and he screamed. Takato didn't want to watch, but needed to be sure that Valn wouldn't be able to hurt anyone ever again. He saw Valn use a computer nearby, but he didn't seem to be able to achieve anything. Takato heard a familiar thump, and turned around to see Dr. Nonaka, monstrous as ever. And Takato forgot to find his backpack.

But Takato noticed something different this time. It wasn't looking at him, it was looking at Valn. Takato slowly moved the chair which barred the door and stepped to the side and awaited Dr. Nonaka's next move fearfully.

_Maybe there was some of the real Dr. Nonaka in there after all._

The door opened nearly instantly, and Valn stumbled out, disoriented but cogent enough to be furious. But Dr. Nonaka still never turned his attention to Takato, but stayed trained on Valn.

"Enjoy your better world." Takato said to Valn before he backed up and ran to find the others. The last he heard of Valn were the screams that Takato chose to ignore.

Takato found the others two floors up, on the same floor that he had found Rika before. He noticed that Rika's eyes were red, she had been crying shortly before.

"Takato!" Rika called. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Valn's dead." Takato explained. "The monster turned on him."

The reunion was interrupted by the sound of an explosion in the distance.

"What was that?" Ryo asked.

Before Takato could answer, they walls around them shook again, as loud crashes were heard above and behind them.

"Looks like Valn didn't plan on making it through this himself." Takato murmered, looking around, realizing that Valn _had_ achieved something on that terminal two floors down.

"Well then what are we waiting for, let's go!" Rika said over the noise.

_You can't._

"I can't leave." Takato said firmly.

"What?" Rika asked, obviously confused. "Takato, this place is _falling_ _apart_!" Rika said in the Are-You-Insane tone Takato hadn't heard directed at him in the recent past. As if on cue, the building shook again, sparks flying from the computers as the lights overhead flickered.

"I know that, but I'm not leaving yet." Takato said quietly.

"You're fucking kidding me." Ryo said, obviously not in the mood to equivocate.

_Lie._

"But it's not done! Valn's virus is still existent. If it survives this, it'll infect, it'll spread, and it'll mutate. And this will start _all over_ again." Takato had lost his objective manner, and spoke with the passion he had when leading the Tamers. "—And I'm not asking you to do this. I want you and Ryo to get clear of the tunnels, get back to Hypnos."

_Make this fast._

"I know what I'm doing, Ryo." Takato wasn't exactly sure that he did. In fact, he felt horrible for lying to them about this. But he knew what he had to do, and there was no time to second-guess himself. "I'll meet you back at Hypnos. Hurry up, and be careful, okay? Trust me."

He hoped they would. He knew they would. They always had. Takato wasn't exactly sure if he was happy about that. The complex shook again. "Go."

Rika had started crying by the time that Takato had asked her to trust him. Takato knew that _she_ knew he was making things up as he went along. But he knew that she also knew that there was no time, and that she had no choice _but_ to trust him. She slowly backed up, still not taking her eyes off of him. He saw her blink as she turned and ran, causing a new set of tears to stream down her cheeks, which had more than their fair share of dirt, oil, grease—as they all did.

Ryo hadn't moved, and when Takato turned his eyes from Rika to Ryo, he knew that Ryo was reluctant to leave. Takato had known his best friend for a very long time, and knew him well. He recognized the look on Ryo's face as one of curiosity, anxiety, betrayal—most emotions except fear.

"Go with Rika."

Ryo turned to the direction in which she'd ran anxiously and after both boys discovered she was waiting for him at the doorway out of that room, Ryo turned back to Takato. He extended his arm.

Takato reached forward and accepted the gesture, shaking his hand.

"Thank you." Ryo said quietly, still not breaking eye-contact.

_He knows._

"No problem." Takato said, finding he didn't have to force the smile that came.

The next time the complex shook, Takato saw that Rika nearly fell down, but she had steadied herself by grabbing onto the wall for dear life. Takato and Ryo's handshake—

—_Ryo's goodbye—_

—was broken as they each stumbled away from each other, though they both quickly regained their footing.

"Now _go!_" Takato ordered loudly, which got him a nod from Ryo as he ran towards Rika.

_Goodbye._

Takato watched with mixed emotions as he watched two of his good friends leave. Ryo looked back a few times before Takato saw the pair go around a corner. On one hand, his mission has been pretty successful—Ryo was safe, Valn was no longer a threat, Takato'd even managed to save Rika. But on the other hand, he was fairly convinced that he was never going to see Rika, Ryo, Jeri—or any of them, again.

Takato had been telling the truth about the virus—it still had enough potential to be a serious threat. But it wasn't going to be released as a gas. It wasn't going to be released at all. Any and all evidence of its existence would be destroyed with the facility. Takato's reason for staying was not because there were millions of lives at risk. It was because Valn had put the building on lockdown. The door out to the tunnels wouldn't open—they wouldn't be able to escape. At least if Takato had gone with them.

_I hope to God this works._

He ran in the direction opposite of Rika and Ryo. Takato knew they wouldn't be at the locked door for another several minutes, given the size of the complex as well as the fact that it was shaking so much. He had an uncomfortably small amount of time to work with. Takato could run fast, and he never felt like he'd run any faster than he had right then, but not because he expected to unlock the doors and get out. He quickly found himself in the room that Valn had first initiated the lockdown; and at the same computer with the small camera on top of it that Valn himself had used. Praying that it was still functioning, he tapped a key. It hummed to life. Thankful, Takato ran the program labeled "DOOR CONTROL", and when prompted for identification, he held Semp's card over the scanner. This led to a satisfying notification that all doors had been unlocked and opened.

_Time to go._

Takato stood, instinctively stuffing the card into his pocket, and ran to the door out of the room, his work done. He was going through it when the shaking became noticeably more intense. What made it so noticeable was that giant pieces of the ceiling had caved in, completely blocking the way his way out of the complex.

He didn't even force a sigh. Takato knew what he was signing on for when he decided to go to that place to begin with. And he'd done most of what he wanted to. The mission had been a success. Takato even let himself feel some pride: he felt he earned it. However scared he was, he found solace in knowing that he'd done what he wanted to: he'd done what was right. He was able to show the people in his life who he loved, just what they meant to him.

_That's more than most people ever get to._

Takato smiled that day. Sixteen year-old Takato Matsuda, who'd carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. It was many days later when the reports of his death flooded the news. The complex was too far underground and there was no way he could have survived the collapse of it. The investigators found no body – it was reported to have been incinerated when the generator exploded after the ceiling caved in on it. The world mourned the loss of a hero, though a select few took it much harder than others.

--

_**EPILOGUE:**_

After seeing his only escape taken away from right in front of him, Takato simply walked into the room he had come from, as he had no place else to go. He sat at the computer, noticing it was still functioning, as he awaited the inevitable.

_One more loose end._

Takato ran the program labeled "COMMUNICATIONS", and was still a little surprised when a program opened up displaying live footage of himself. He glanced towards the small webcam on top of it, smiling weakly. Taking the same steps that Carl Semp had, hoping to get a message out, Takato clicked the "RECORD" icon next, and looked to the camera.

"Okay. I guess this is it." He said into the webcam over the noise in the background. "Incase this survives, or incase I can get this out to anyone—I'm not really sure how to send this to specific people—I just wanted—my name is Takato Matsuda. I'm sixteen years old. I probably shouldn't be here, but I'm glad I was. If—if you could please get a message to Jeri Kato, I'd really be grateful. Tell her that—tell her I did my best, and I'm sorry. But I'll see her again someday. And, uh, ask her and Guilmon to take care of each other, too, okay? She'll know what I mean. Thanks."

Not particularly satisfied, but feeling rushed nonetheless, Takato clicked the "SEND ALL" icon, entirely unsure of who he just sent his last words to. He could hear the crashes coming down from above and from both sides of the hallway outside, he tried to take his mind off of his immanent fate by trying to find something to occupy his time with on the computer. He looked around at the programs on the computer—"COMMUNICATIONS, STATUS, DOOR CONTROL, LIGHTS, JOURNALS, DWPG, LOGS". He thought twice when he saw the "DWPG" program, remembering Carl Semp's last message. Before Takato died, he wanted to know how exactly Valn got the power to build such a complex so quickly. He wanted to know where the workers who built it came from. Takato clicked on it to bring up the files.

_Valn, you son of a bitch_.

His heart stopped when he recognized from the files it opened that "DWPG" stood for Digital World Portal Generator.

Takato smirked, and ran the program, realizing he might not wind up in the same position as Carl Semp after all.

--

Okay, that's it! What did you think? You'll see why Rika was crying in the Crescendo chapter that corresponds to this one, probably one or two ahead. I'm brainstorming some ideas for a sequel, if anyone's interested, so send me an email or something and I'll let you know when it's up. I'm thinking it'll be around Christmas, as I'll be on break.

There were a lot of different things I _wanted_ to do in this chapter, but didn't really get to put in. Like Ryo2 (From Crescendo Chapter 10). I was going to have Jeri's perspective for the end, but left her comatose, so she'll sure get some great news when she wakes up. I was thinking about having some more extensive dialogue at the end, but I was really proud of the last paragraph right before the epilogue. Oh well!

Thanks for everyone who's read this far, I appreciate it.

Over and out,

-N


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